Yeah, I think this is part of why people find value (hopefully) in BASB. You have the four folders, and they’re everywhere. Each has a specific purpose, peg-board like.
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Just to follow-up for fairness: I have been bringing my gripes with the approach and system to the class forum and Tiago himself answered in a very detailed, considerate and thoughtful manner, with screenshots and all. It needs to be said that he does give very generously his time and energy to his students (in a way Allen never did, if we keep comparing), and that he listens to criticism A LOT.
I still think the class is overpriced but let it not be implied that there is not a lot of ongoing work from Tiago and his team behind it, because there is.
(Maybe I’m just an European so I am a little at odds with the American approach to Internet marketing, which is why I have been getting uncomfortable with the way it’s sold and marketed.)
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No, don’t think that’s it 
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I’ve lost track. Someone somewhere was saying Forte’s in it for the money, why not write a book. Still might be in it for the money, but he now has a book contract.
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I am looking for an overview as well as in-depth reading on different knowledge-management systems (like PARA). Does anybody have any recommendations? Thank you.
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'twas I, I think. I’ve since learned that he does have a few books-as-bundled-blog-posts-for-purchase on Amazon, too.
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I have detailed my setup here and there are links to PARA.
KillerWhale’s system for organising knowledge and creativity (not PARA) (LONG)
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Thank you! But I‘ve already read you post. In fact, it got me inspired to check out if there is more. I‘d like to explore the wider landscape a little to determine what makes sense for my work before I invest heavily into one or another system. But thank you anyway, much appreciated!
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Don’t take this facetiously, but this is a good case where Google is your friend. There is so much dialog about this across the internet that it’s impossible to boil it down. Partly because “what should I do for knowledge management” probably has no answer. It depends on whatever you think your own skill gaps and problems are.
One approach is to look behind the scenes at product sites such as DEVONthink, TheBrain, etc., and see what materials they have published for their customers to understand use cases for their products.
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Absolutely. I just wondered if anybody knows of a nice comprehensive reading. Maybe a comparison of some kind or an overview from where I can dig deeper. 
This might be a good question to ask on Quora.
The trouble with trying to Google an answer for this is that so many people conflate knowledge management and knowledge management system. Which is kind of like comparing GTD and OmniFocus - one is a discipline, the other is a tool.
Edit: The language even fails in this post, as you are looking, I think, for a system (a discipline), but not a tool.
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Incidentally, I find that this is where most of the value in a video course typically comes in - as opposed to a book. If there’s a forum where students can ask questions and get help from the instructor, that adds quite a bit of value over a collection of printed pages.
I’m not saying the value is anywhere near what he seems to be charging - just noting that it’s almost always the value-added stuff like forums, live calls, etc. (as opposed to just the videos & PDFs) where the majority of the value is.
And probably the onus to make the cost worth it. You’re paying for a commitment to the concept you’re learning.
That said, you can jump into and out of Tiago’s forum for $10/month. (I think there’s still sub forums exclusive to course-takers, but I found the conversation at the first level to be interesting when I subscribed for a month.)
FWIW, Tiago announced this week that he just signed a book deal. I’ve been following his blog and many podcast guest appearances for a couple of years (even subscribed to the paid blog for a while). I’ve never taken one of his courses, so I’ll leave it to others to decide whether they’re worth the money. IMO he does have some really sharp insights sometimes. I’ve found his progressive summarization technique and his thoughts on things like JIT processing and repurposable work packets useful, the PARA organization system less so.
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zettelkasten.de (no worries, it’s in English) is absolutely essential, but unfortunately there’s not really an overall “getting started” type summary there. One of the blog authors does have a book but I’d recommend waiting for the much-expanded second edition he’s working on. Meanwhile, Sönke Ahrens’ book How to Take Smart Notes approaches Zettelkasten from a slightly different angle and is probably the best current entry point in English. (I’m not especially fond of his rendering of Zettelkasten as ‘slip box’ but that’s just a linguistic quibble — it’s not that the translation is wrong per se, it’s just that the phrase doesn’t really mean anything in English.)
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If you really want to explore how different people have approached personal knowledge management, you might also want to take a look at Lion Kimbro’s work, although I definitely wouldn’t recommend adopting his actual methods. Author Steven B. Johnson’s early-2000s essays on his use of DEVONthink are also still worth a look. And Robert Pirsig, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, has a brief but interesting description of how he used a Zettelkasten-like index card system in the sequel Lila.
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Thank you very much! This looks all very interesting.
Interesting to hear these views on PARA and Tiago Forte. I have done the course (work paid for it so I have no incentive to overplay the benefits of it just because I paid for it, and I have no connection to him beyond the course).
I agree the course is now expensive, but when I paid I got lifetime access to all updated versions and teaching. For me the benefit has been how I approach information and transitioning from information hoarding to creation. The PARA organization bit, while useful, is not the point of the course - it is how one approaches information and how one uses it that is the main thrust.
The main reason for writing this is that I did not see any element of a scam, overselling, or pressure to sign up. Tiago Forte was generous with his time and often taught by demonstrating his approaches in real time. He came across as humble, thoughtful and genuine (although perhaps a little too emotional for my British sensibilities There is also a lively community of discussion during the 5-week course.
In summary, I have found value from it and I hope Mr. Forte does well from his endeavours. As more learn about it, raising the price is one way to keep the class sizes manageable. We all need to earn a living, and I have no qualms about how much he charges, no-one is forced to pay; and the book will make the main points accessible to all for little cost.
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Currently the course sells for 3000 Euro. Sounds expensive, while there is little information what people actually get.
Who thinks the course is worth for this price?
Is there anybody who did the course recently?
I would first watch every video Tiago Forte has posted to YouTube and see what you think. He’s good but only you can decide if he is worth 3000 Euro to you.
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