Learning Roam

Learning Roam is the tag for material about learning and extending Roam Research, the networked note-taking tool, mostly drawn from the 2021 “#RoamCult” community on Twitter. The 27 saved tweets show how the tool was taught and extended by its users.

• Community plug-ins and tooling. Roam42 Workbench (explained by TfTHacker and paired with Alfred by another user), the RoamJS Google Calendar extension, a PDF-generating iframe component, Unlink Finder, Zotero integration (zoteroRoam), a search engine for Roam content across Slack, Twitter and public graphs, and phonetoroam (text a number and the note shows up in your graph).
• Workflows. Assigning tasks to teammates with context tags and SmartBlocks, a GTD-style app prototyped in Roam, YouTube notes with transcripts synced to Readwise, moving PDF highlights into Roam, and using Roam to write fiction and non-fiction, where several users hit the same wall: exporting a finished text with its embedded blocks. A related question asked what the biggest problem is when exporting from Roam.
• Learning to use it. Ali Abdaal announced a live two-hour crash course for complete beginners (February 27-28, 2021, with revenue donated to charity), and a user who “logged into roam research and…I don’t get it” shows the onboarding gap. A “word of advice” post argues that the tool’s flexibility is also its largest hindrance, because of users’ own behavior.
• Comparisons and product changes. A write-up comparing Roam and Obsidian (with a reply disagreeing about search), a June 2021 update that made block references bi-directional, encrypted blocks (May 2023), and a $500 bounty for replacing Firebase file storage.

Pages carried over from the original Roam tag: Roam Research, Multiplayer Roam, Text Expander, Daily Journal. Related: Tools For Thought, Open-Source Knowledge.

Where this appears

• #Roamans - and While I Am… (tweet)
• 1- Interesting Write Up Comparing… (tweet)
• A Word of Advice #Roamans… (tweet)
• Alright #RoamCult First Up is… (tweet)
• Alright, I Made a Thing… (tweet)
• Assigning Tasks to Teammates in… (tweet)
• Big Updates to the RoamJS… (tweet)
• Does Anyone in #RoamCult Know… (tweet)
• Encrypted Notes Now Live on… (tweet)
• Ever Wonder If GTD Had… (tweet)
• Fantastic Twitch-stream by @cortexfutura Today!… (tweet)
• First Iframe Component in the… (tweet)
• For #Roamans That Have Been… (tweet)
• Hey #RoamCult , What is… (tweet)
• Hey Friends, I’m Doing a… (tweet)
• Hi #RoamCult! I’ve Spent the… (tweet)
• Holy 💩 - Roam42 Workbench… (tweet)
• Just Watched the #Roam Workflow… (tweet)
• Logged Into Roam Research And…I… (tweet)
• Need to Find Out If… (tweet)
• Over Two Months Ago I… (tweet)
• Sometimes I Tell the Truth… (tweet)
• This Latest Update to @RoamResearch… (tweet)
• Today I’m Excited to Launch… (tweet)
• Unlink Finder Now Supports Click-to-link!… (tweet)
• Using @RoamResearch for Writing Fiction… (tweet)
• 💰 BOUNTY OPEN - $500 for… (tweet)

Saved from Roam

• Related: Roam Research
• Multiplayer Roam
• Text Expander
• Daily Journal