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General Software Discussion / Thoughts on Trello and zettelkasten
« Last post by Dormouse on April 13, 2020, 03:42 AM »This isn't a review, or an evaluation; likely I will never write one. It's simply an observation in passing while doing other things.
afaics, Trello is able to tick all possible boxes for zettelksten use. It can be free or relatively cheap ($45 a year). It has the advantage of being a robust business program essential for its users, with active development and support. Using power ups, virtually any type of charting or analytical tool is available. It's an online tool but each platform has native apps and boards can be used offline (without attachments, but that shouldn't be a disadvantage if all attachments are kept locally through dropbox or similar).
The commensurate disadvantage is potential cost (3 power ups per board for $45, unlimited comes at a business price - $120 a year and a subscription for the desired power ups may be required). OK for someone whose earning potentially enhanced, but beyond most impecunious students working on a thesis. It also needs to be remembered that Trello's primary function and target market is project management for teams. There's also no guarantee that pricing will remain the same long-term.
I see it essentially as a linking, thinking tool - it's not a repository and doesn't interfere with using a plain text document system. To that extent, a perfect match for the zettelkasten concept.
I don't believe I will ever get into using it in full whizzbang mode. That requires significant thinking, learning and developing a workflow - efficient if you are using it all the time for everything, but otherwise a substantial cost to bear. But I do expect to use it extensively in simpler, cheaper ways. I'm also unconvinced that all the various features discussed on zettelkasten forums when comparing programs actually make the system more effective. I suspect less may be more.
afaics, Trello is able to tick all possible boxes for zettelksten use. It can be free or relatively cheap ($45 a year). It has the advantage of being a robust business program essential for its users, with active development and support. Using power ups, virtually any type of charting or analytical tool is available. It's an online tool but each platform has native apps and boards can be used offline (without attachments, but that shouldn't be a disadvantage if all attachments are kept locally through dropbox or similar).
The commensurate disadvantage is potential cost (3 power ups per board for $45, unlimited comes at a business price - $120 a year and a subscription for the desired power ups may be required). OK for someone whose earning potentially enhanced, but beyond most impecunious students working on a thesis. It also needs to be remembered that Trello's primary function and target market is project management for teams. There's also no guarantee that pricing will remain the same long-term.
I see it essentially as a linking, thinking tool - it's not a repository and doesn't interfere with using a plain text document system. To that extent, a perfect match for the zettelkasten concept.
I don't believe I will ever get into using it in full whizzbang mode. That requires significant thinking, learning and developing a workflow - efficient if you are using it all the time for everything, but otherwise a substantial cost to bear. But I do expect to use it extensively in simpler, cheaper ways. I'm also unconvinced that all the various features discussed on zettelkasten forums when comparing programs actually make the system more effective. I suspect less may be more.
Would want to check out export to WriteMonkey or Scrivener (etc).