Memex and TheBrain Software - The Capture Tool, Article
Memex and TheBrain Software - The Capture Tool
Overview
The key to a good PKM or second brain is capture mechanisms. I have written articles on capturing information faster in TheBrain Software by having a [predictable structure] and using a [code snippet tool to create fast-to-use templates]. However, that only covers about half of the data I enter into my PKM. The rest of my information is imported from other software like Ulysses, DayOne, Kindle, YouTube Premium, and the target of this article - Memex.
Let’s touch on the other apps
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[Ulysses] - This is both a Capture and an Express application. I create all of my Medium and company articles in Ulysses. It is easy to just “select all” and “paste” a completed article directly into a thought in TheBrain.
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[DayOne] - This journalling tool is available on macOS, iOS, and Android. It is the only place where I don’t move everything into a Thought note. The “on this day” feature allows for review and reflection of my thoughts, some over seven years old, that enable me to understand if I am moving in the mental and physical directions I want to as a person.
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Kindle/Audible - I love books, but I also have learning disabilities that slow down my neurological ability to uptake written information in long format. I have figured out how to combat this by using the combination of the Kindle app and an Audible subscription to help me consume more books with higher retention. The Kindle app also allows me to take notes and use [Read.Amazon.com] to export my highlights and notes into TheBrain software.
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YouTube - Given my learning disabilities mentioned above, you might understand that the uptake of new information in short video format is significantly more effective for me. So I use YouTube a lot. So much that YouTube Premium gives me an ROI. I use YouTube so much that I have been posting companion videos to these articles (see References below for link). However, taking notes from YouTube has been slower than I would like. I would try to keep TheBrain open on one screen and start and stop the YouTube video on another screen.
Enter Memex
I started looking for answers with products like Pocket and Instapaper. But late in 2022, I learned about [Memex] by watching Bryan Jenks’ [4-hour-long end-all-be-all Obsidian/Zettelkasten] video. (Yes, I had to break this video down into smaller chunks watching only 20 to 45 minutes at a time, given my aforementioned uptake limitations)
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This beta product installs in Chrome, Brave, and Firefox on Windows, macOS, and Linux. There is a Memex Go app for iOS and Android devices.
The thing I like about Memex on a desktop OS is that it is always working. As I browse anything online, I can quickly save a highlight, take a note, or mark a webpage to be viewed later. Before learning about Memex, I was a subscriber to Instapaper and had done some research on Pocket. Though Instapaper was very nice to use, capturing highlights and notes without having to save the web page and then moving over to Instapaper to create the highlights and notes made the switch very intriguing.
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The result was that I had over 70 webpage notes by the end of the first week.
Memex uses “spaces” to allow me to organize the information for later searching and processing. I find these exceptionally useful as they let me know what stage of processing and the topics in a particular article.
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It also injects results on search pages to allow you to search page titles, highlights, and notes you have created. This makes it even faster for me to find “that article I read last week.” Even in the first week of use, this search feature allowed me to recover a web page I was looking at.
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These are features that make Memex so easy to use. But two killer features make me love this software:
- YouTube note-taking
- Export templates
YouTube note-taking
As the Memex sidebar can be locked open on a screen showing a YouTube video, it is easy to start taking notes. Even more important, using Cmd-y on a Mac, or Ctrl+y on Windows or Linux, Memex will insert the time stamp with the YouTube time stamp link into the note.
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This is a game-changer for me. The ability to take notes with the time shortcut in the notes allows me to take notes closer to the flow of the video. Furthermore, as these are fleeting notes, and I know I will be progressively summarizing them as I pull them into TheBrain software, I don’t stress over perfectly formed pros and ideas. I can fix them later.
Templates allow Exporting to TheBrain
Moving right along after taking all the notes I might have on a particular video, the ability to export them to the clipboard makes it easy for me to move the highlights and notes into TheBrain software.
To export notes, you need to have an export template to format your note(s). You can always start with [my template from GitHub]. Though the export does not create the most beautiful notes, it does move the data quickly.
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I have found that having this template removes friction for me to move said highlights and notes into TheBrain. A key point in ensuring that I will process them further and be able to make better use of the information later.
Memex - The Bad
This is a beta product. I have had to remove and reinstall the extension to continue to use it. This does not bother me, but it might be a deal breaker for some.
Memex has been a paid extension in the past, and I expect I will gladly pay for it when it returns to a paid option.
Memex Go is a standalone app on mobile devices. There is no browser extension. So if you are trying to have an all-mobile workflow Memex is not the right tool for you. Then again, neither is TheBrain software.
Resources:
YouTube companion: [https://youtu.be/6ulltRvEHlc]
The Training Brain that I use can be found at: https://app.thebrain.com/brains/bbe70a2d-fe50-4a7a-b2dd-ee6fe08120d6/thoughts/2d2f9420-bbe2-4ffd-9607-a3349c124ebe/notes
You can discuss TheBrain and other productivity software on my Discord: https://discord.gg/nEBWkG49