@tomavatars, just some more brainstorming here as I’ve been using Roam quite a bit.
First, a point about the mind mapping and diagramming. Like @Jean_Pierre_Traets I am in fact doing some outlining of my Coda Schema in Roam, which I’ve been finalizing for several months! I’ve really missed the ability to see more visually in planning my schema across dimensions. Things like I have my Software Platform (my team manages websites), built in typical layers (Front End, Mid-Tier, etc.). Then, my product components reside within these layers… And relate to partners I recruit to use my system… With whom my team interacts via communication tasks…
And All this I’m trying to track in Coda, and make sure I get the relationships right. It’s been a lot of trial and error, but Roam is helping me build this schema first, thanks to the multi-dimension relationships, without me having to build it in Coda, use it, see something wrong, change it, and rebuild.
And this is to say that a mind map or network diagram of my Coda set-up would go a long way towards solving this. So I see more and more benefit from this missing feature in my current work in Coda, almost daily:
Mind map plug aside, I also wanted to say that Roam is warming me up to the potential of “blocks” of text in Coda that could be “promoted.” By promoted, I mean converted from text into more database-type records with more depth, such as status, due date, assignee, etc.
I hadn’t been that keen on blocks, which seem to have made their presence felt in Notion, but also exist in an increasing number of apps like Slite, Fibery, and so on. But the way Roam uses blocks is very intriguing from a creative point of view:
If I am understanding correctly, every “block” you write - and basically every bullet point in a paragraph becomes a “block” - has some underlying attributes that allow it to be referenced throughout the app. So these “blocks” function like mini-data records. It occurred to me that you could create similar blocks across Coda, in some places where I happen to use a lot of expanded text, which are:
- In Canvas
- In Rich Text description fields
- In Comments
Then, the idea is you could possibly “convert” them, via right click menu or ellipses, to a row in a table. All the while leaving this block where it is in its “home” in the canvas or Rich Text description or Comment. And creating a reference to the destination row. That destination row can wind up being a project, an OKR, idea to create a company goal, you name it. This would give another dimension of creativity as it would encourage write-up of ideas and similar content without hesitation across Coda, with no fear among more novice users around how to convert this into Coda’s row structure. And if these quick keyboard shortcuts are implemented that Tom talks about, there is great free-flow potential for more creative and less technical types who otherwise might look at Notion or Milanote exclusively. With this level of flow available in Coda, there would be much less intimidation between writing, and integrating this content into actionable rows in Coda.
I really don’t think it would be a stretch for Coda to implement some of this stuff. Would be a great complement to the core structure and power we have. And probably a great tool to encourage more Makers get into Coda. It is the year of the Maker after all!