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If you& #39;re using @obsdmd as though it& #39;s @RoamResearch, then you get what you pay for. I use both, and both have their strengths, but Obsidian has page level backlinks and no filtering. As soon as you get more than a few linked refs, their backlinks implementation is burdensome
Roam& #39;s data structure in conjunction w/ backlinks make the daily notes work. When you view the backlinks for a page, it drills down on the specific information on the page that is relevant. Have dozens of backlinks? That& #39;s okay, filter it down! https://twitter.com/context_ing/status/1285090522202173440?s=20">https://twitter.com/context_i...
Backlinks in Obsidian are essentially a search that they put beside a note. They have less utility. I recommend thinking about your Daily Notes there as an inbox and moving notes out of the daily notes and onto specific pages. Roam& #39;s Daily Notes are both an inbox and outbox.
Without filters, keyword level page names (think [[psychology]] or [[investing]]) don& #39;t work well unless they are index pages for evergreen notes. Zettelkasten or Evergreen Notes are a much better fit for Obsidian than keyword level notes. https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z3SjnvsB5aR2ddsycyXofbYR7fCxo7RmKW2be">https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z3SjnvsB5...
This rant was sort of spurred by @justindirose& #39;s tour on @KeepProductive, but also by all the people who characterize Obsidian as "Roam but free." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz0wZiuXCoQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
Yes, I recognize that he uses Obsidian over Roam primarily because of the privacy and control that comes with Obsidian. That being said, Justin is using Obsidian like Roam, and I don& #39;t think that scales. Many people use Obsidian in this way, and this is a mistake.
Not trying to call out Justin, it& #39;s just that his tour is a visual example of this broader phenomena. Many Roam users will watch it and think to themselves "square peg, round hole" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz0wZiuXCoQ">https://www.youtube.com/watch...
I don& #39;t want to turn this into an Obsidian slam thread. I use both, I think they are both excellent applications. My point is just to not treat Obsidian like Roam. Treat Obsidian as a text file editor and manager that can operate on any file on your computer and link them
All of my pages on my digital garden ( http://robhaisfield.com/about )">https://robhaisfield.com/about&quo... are written in the _notes file you see in VS Code, which I manage/edit/autoupdate from Obsidian. When I& #39;m writing text files for other reasons, I can open any other folder on my computer as a new vault.
How I divide the two in my own use cases:
Roam: Research, thinking, accumulating thought over time, private evergreen notes, project management, CRM
Obsidian: Deliverable output, text file management, private or public evergreen notes.
Roam: Research, thinking, accumulating thought over time, private evergreen notes, project management, CRM
Obsidian: Deliverable output, text file management, private or public evergreen notes.
Some constructive feedback towards Obsidian as well- I would love to see it lean into the broad “text file management and editing” use case and allow for editing/managing other forms of text files like DocX and perhaps having Pandoc as a plugin or built in https://forum.obsidian.md/t/pandoc-plugin/3433">https://forum.obsidian.md/t/pandoc-...
I& #39;m sure you are fully aware and made an informed decision! People should check out Justin& #39;s video comparing Roam and Obsidian, it& #39;s good! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSo4K8sPHQU">https://www.youtube.com/watch... https://twitter.com/justindirose/status/1285391990306344960">https://twitter.com/justindir...
