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This is a thread about @RoamResearch, a web-based app which I've started using for taking notes and organising knowledge. I would say that anyone who uses digital notes would find it useful to take a look at the app. My only connection with Roam is as an enthusiastic user. 1/
I was set up with a Roam account by founder Conor White-Sullivan ( @Conaw) in August 2019. I then spent about 30 minutes reading the help resources and playing around with the app. 2/
It looked interesting but, as I felt satisfied with my note-taking process in Evernote, I wasn't motivated enough to explore any further. 3/
However I kept reading @Conaw's tweets and became intrigued by the many positive comments from existing users. Watching two videos of Roam in action convinced me that I needed to spend more time getting to grips with the app. 4/
I've now come to understand what an intriguing tool it is because it allows both top-down hierarchical thinking and bottom-up associative thinking with a unique ease and lack of friction. 5/
As with Evernote, the main unit is an individual page/note. However, in Roam, text is stored within pages in multiple blocks, which can consist of paragraphs, sentences, phrases or even just category names. Images can also be included. 6/
These blocks can be nested across multiple levels which is very helpful in organising knowledge into key and subsidiary points. And because the nested levels can be expanded and contracted, it's easy to choose the level of detail one needs. 7/
Associative thinking and the connection of ideas are facilitated by the granularity of links and the ease of creating them. The connecting process differs in two key ways from Evernote. 8/
i) In Evernote, only whole notes can be tagged. So, with a long note, it can be hard work and a waste of time to find the relevant section one is looking for. 9/
With Roam, tags can be applied to individual blocks so one can find the relevant paragraph or sentence one's looking for instantaneously. 10/
ii) In Evernote, one has to do a search operation for specific tags. 11/
In Roam, setting up a tag (either by using a # or enclosing the tag term within double square brackets) automatically creates a page that collects all instances of the content related to a particular tag. 12/
So just by clicking on a tag link, one has access to all content for that tag. What's more, if additional detail is required, the nested blocks underneath each tagged block can be explored by expanding the hierarchical tree. 13/
While increasing the granularity of linking and eliminating the need to do specific searches on tags might seem minor changes, it's interesting how much they reduce the friction involved in connecting ideas. 14/
In Roam, I'm making more connections and links than I did in Evernote. Roam is also proving much more effective in helping me think more deeply about these connections and links. 15/
Roam is web-based at the moment. However I think there are also plans for mobile- and web-based apps. It's in beta so it's still free for the time being. 16/
If you're interested in exploring further, here are some helpful resources: 17/
i) A very useful article about the basics of Roam and how it relates to ideas about building a second brain. https://www.reddit.com/r/RoamResearch/comments/eho7de/building_a_second_brain_in_roamand_why_you_might/ 18/
ii) A video of Roam in action. 19/
iii) A video by Stian Haklev ( @houshuang) of how he has reproduced his research workflow in Roam.
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iv) Some comments from existing users. https://roamresearch.com/#/v8/help/page/9jAzaU0PN 21/
