Powerful Plain Text: Markdown and How You're Probably Already Using It

This post is a direct followup to “The Power of Plain Text” from April.

Last week I was helping a friend recover insights from a ChatGPT conversation they'd had months ago about restructuring their business. Twenty minutes of scrolling through chat history later, we were both frustrated. Then I asked, "Did you happen to download it to a Markdown file? A puzzled response led me to point and say to click that 'Download as Markdown' button".

They hadn't. Most people don't.

But when we clicked it and opened the file, there it was - their entire strategic planning session, searchable, editable, and ready to be turned into an actual plan. That's when I realized how many people are sitting on valuable content they can't access, simply because they don't know what Markdown is or why it matters.

You're Already Writing in Markdown

If you use Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, or pretty much any modern AI tool, you're already creating Markdown content. Every time the AI structures its response with headers, bullet points, or code blocks, it's using Markdown formatting.

Here's what I mean. This is from an actual AI conversation export:

## Project Planning Assistant

I'll help you break down your website redesign project.

### Key Phases:

1. **Discovery Phase** (2 weeks)
   - Stakeholder interviews
   - Current site audit
   - Competitor analysis

2. **Design Phase** (3 weeks)
   - Wireframing
   - Visual design
   - Prototype development

Those ## symbols create headers. The ** makes text bold. The dashes become bullet points. It's just text with a few simple conventions that make it transformable into almost any format you need.

What Actually Is Markdown?

Markdown is plain text that knows how to dress up when needed. John Gruber created it in 2004 because he was tired of writing HTML tags just to format blog posts. He wanted something you could write naturally that would still convert to proper HTML.

The genius is that Markdown files are readable even without rendering. Unlike a Word document full of hidden formatting codes, or HTML with all its angle brackets, Markdown looks pretty much like how you'd naturally structure text in an email.

Here are the patterns that cover 90% of what you'll ever need:

Headers - organize your document:

# Main Title
## Section
### Subsection

Emphasis - highlight important bits:

This is **bold** and this is *italic*

Lists - because that's how we think:

- First idea
- Second idea
  - Sub-point
  - Another sub-point

1. Step one
2. Step two
3. Step three

Links - connect to other resources:

Check out [this article](https://example.com)

Code - when precision matters:

Use `inline code` for commands or technical terms.

​```
Use code blocks
for multiple lines
or examples
​```

Quotes - attribute ideas:

> This is a quoted section
> that can span multiple lines

That's really it. With these patterns, you can create documents that work everywhere, like, oh, I don’t know, these newsletters, which are always drafted in Markdown.

Why This Matters for Digital Self-Reliance

I've been thinking a lot about how people develop real autonomy with their digital tools. Markdown sits at this interesting intersection - it's simple enough that anyone can learn it in an afternoon, but powerful enough that developers use it for all their documentation, and many of them use it for pretty much everything. The fact it became the de facto format for getting things into and out of LLM AI tools amplified the value in recent years.

Your AI Conversations Become Permanent Assets

Instead of having brilliant AI exchanges disappear into the chat history void, you can:

• Export them as Markdown files

• Search across all your conversations at once

• Build a library of successful prompts

• Remix old conversations into new content

Keep a folder called "AI_Exchanges" organized by topic. When you need to reference a technical explanation from three months ago, you can find it in seconds. When you want to turn a brainstorming session into a blog post, the content is already structured and ready.

You Own Your Writing

This might be the most important point. When you write in proprietary formats, you're dependent on specific software. When that software changes, disappears, or becomes too expensive, your content is trapped.

Markdown files are just text. They'll open on any computer, now or in 30 years. You can edit them with free tools or expensive ones. You can transform them into any format. You maintain complete control.

One File, Many Destinations

This is where things get interesting. That same Markdown file can become:

• A web page (every static site generator uses Markdown)

• A PDF (through tools like Pandoc)

• A Word document (for those who insist)

• A slide presentation

• An ebook

• A printed document with proper typography

You write once in a simple format, then transform as needed (we’ll be covering how in upcoming resources). No copying and pasting between programs, no reformatting nightmares.

Tools and Starting Points

The tool you choose depends less on features and more on what fits your workflow. Here's how I'd think about it:

If you're just exploring: Start with what you have. Seriously. Open any text editor and try writing some Markdown. Many people get hung up on finding the "perfect" tool before they've written their first header.

For a slightly better experience:

• Online: Dillinger.io or StackEdit - nothing to install

• Simple editors: MarkText (free, all platforms) or Typora (paid, but excellent)

• Developer tools: VSCode is where I wrote this post

If you're building a knowledge system: This is where Markdown really shines. Tools like:

• Obsidian: Creates a web of interconnected notes

• Logseq: Outline-based, good for structured thinking

• Foam: VS Code extension for those comfortable with code editors

If you're ready for automation:

• Pandoc: The universal document converter

• Static site generators: Jekyll, Hugo, Eleventy (turn Markdown into websites)

• Build tools: Create automated publishing workflows

Learning Resources Worth Your Time

For syntax:

• CommonMark Tutorial - Interactive, 10 minutes

• Markdown Guide - Comprehensive reference

For practice:

• Export an AI conversation and examine its structure

• Convert one existing document to Markdown

• Try writing your daily notes in Markdown for a week

For going deeper:

• Learn about "flavors" of Markdown (GitHub, MultiMarkdown, etc.)

• Explore Pandoc's conversion options

• Look into static site generators if you want to publish

A Practical Starting Point

Here's what I suggest: This week, export one AI conversation that contains useful information. Open it in any text editor. Notice the patterns. Maybe make a small edit - add a header, emphasize something important, or organize the content better.

Save that file somewhere you'll remember. You've just created your first piece of truly portable, future-proof content.

Next week, I'll share how to build simple systems around these files - ways to organize, search, and transform your growing collection of Markdown documents. But for now, just start noticing how many tools in your daily workflow already speak Markdown.

The path to digital self-reliance often starts with recognizing capabilities you already have.

Until next time,

J Wynia

P.S. A reader asked me what I use: I currently write in VS Code because I'm already there for other work, transform with Pandoc for different outputs, and keep everything in git for version control.

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Scriptono.me helps you develop digital autonomy without the career change. Sometimes that means discovering you're already more capable than you realized.