Check out the new Fargo 2

This outliner is perfect for blogging, notes, and more

I’m excited to share a brand new tool with you today — a web app called Fargo built by Internet pioneer Dave Winer. You’ll want to check this out if you want a simple, streamlined tool to take notes, organize thoughts and data, and easily publish to the Web.

When you visit the Fargo page, you’re asked to authorize your Dropbox account — click here to sign up if you don’t have a free account — and just like that you’re faced with a fresh outline page. Take your notes almost like you would with a word processor in this page. Here’s a screenshot:

Here’s what my own Fargo outline looks like.

Fargo would be a powerful tool if this is all it did. The magic happens, though, when you hook into Fargo’s built-in content management system. Check a few boxes in a preferences panel and suddenly Fargo is not just tracking your notes — it’s also publishing them as web pages to your Dropbox account. As you create content within Fargo, it automatically builds a site for you. It happens all in your browser, on your computer — not on a cloud somewhere where your data might get locked up, messed with, etc. without your consent.

Here’s Fargo publishing the contents of my outline privately to my Dropbox.

Once that site is built, you can do anything with it you want. Put it on your own server somewhere or use the preloaded server Dave’s provided to get your content on the web easy and for free.

I hope this quick preview has convinced you to check out Fargo today. It’s such a simple, streamlined system that I’ve come to use every day over the last few months. I keep track of my research notes, statistical analyses, meetings I attend, resumes and vitas, etc. with Fargo and publish them online so I can collaborate with friends and colleagues. I’ve even used Fargo to diary a recent vacation.

Please check it out and make sure to watch this video for some first steps. If you have any questions about Fargo, please reach out and contact me.

Last note: The new Fargo is beta software, which means it’s a work in progress, even though it’s reliable enough for me to recommend. Keep that in mind as you play!