David Sparks (aka “MacSparky”) has long argued that productivity tools should help us jump directly to meaning, rather than force us through layers of navigation and search. David is also an avid user of Hookmark. We recently sponsored his Mac Power Users podcast and asked him to talk about how he uses the app. Here is what he had to say, starting at 37:34 of Episode #820, The Apple Productivity Suite Field Guide:
Gang, I’ve talked about the idea of contextual computing and hyperlinking. Hookmark by CogSci Apps brings you just that. Lots of people in the tech community champion the concept of contextual computing.
That’s when your software workflows let you jump straight to the specific piece of information or task you need, bypassing search and navigation flows that cause distraction. The classic example is email. You should jump to a specific email, not your inbox.
But the same thing applies to all of your productivity apps. And Hookmark’s developer, CogSci Apps’ founder, is actually the originator of a manifesto called the Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking, which you can search and learn more about. Indeed, I was one of the original signers of it because I really believe in this cause.
Editor’s note: the Manifesto for Ubiquitous Linking articulates why links — not folders, tags, or search alone — are the foundation of contextual computing.
David goes on to say:
Hookmark is designed specifically to enable contextual computing. With Hookmark, you can create links not only to the current web page, but to the current file, email, task, or other item in any link-friendly app. Just bring up Hookmark and copy links to see what’s hooked.
This gets you bidirectional linking to the current item, and to any related items. And the way they’ve developed Hookmark, all the links are robust, which means they work even if the file gets moved or renamed. It’s really smart.
The links to files can even be shared with others who have access to the same file in a locally synced cloud folder, such as Dropbox, Git, or other version control systems, which makes it great for teamwork. You can, for instance, link a draft document to an outline, emails from co-authors, figures, your task lists, and so on. Hookmark really lets you glue it all together and gives you that contextual experience that I’ve been talking about.
No longer do you get distracted through menus or other pieces of applications. When you work on a project using Hookmark, you get just the files you need — just for that project. It lets you stay in the zone and do your best work.
Hookmark keeps you in the flow of your work.
Check this app out. It’s very interesting and very powerful. And our thanks to Hookmark for their support of the Mac Power Users and all of Relay.
From Mac Power Users: The Apple Productivity Suite Field Guide, Oct 26, 2025
(Excerpted with attribution from Relay FM’s Mac Power Users podcast.)
The Manifesto itself quotes both David Sparks and Seth Godin on its motivation page. For example:
Whereas searching on a device may seem like an instantaneous and effortless process, in fact it involves multiple physical and mental steps that consume limited mental resources (such as working memory) and contribute to fatigue. Moreover, switching task modes, in itself, “breaks our rhythm”, as Seth Godin put it.
Start your Hookmark 1-month trial for free. You can continue using Hookmark indefinitely in Lite mode, which includes several free features. You might wish to check out the full list of features.