First, some context
One big piece of context for everything below is that I have an awful memory. I’ve used tools like Flickr (for 20+ years!) and Evernote (until their latest price hike) for ages to try and mitigate this. I also use Inoreader, Notion, etc.
Another thing that you might’ve already noticed via my profile is that I have two primary languages. I also sometimes attempt to read other languages, admittedly heavily assisted by machine translation (which I don’t trust, but I trust my rusty language skills even less).
What Connections have done for me
There are different things and I probably can’t recall them all off the top of my head, but for example:
It’s easier to keep track of how I came across something from a source I’m not familiar with. It gives me better context for how to interpret the information.
I don’t usually read scientific papers on their own,1 so there are a lot of times when I’ll read articles that seem to be talking about the same thing, and sometimes it can be a hassle to try to figure out whether they’re just about the same paper or not. Now I can just check the paper’s connections and see what I’ve connected to it before.
So this helps me avoid the illusion that maybe there are a lot of papers about [whatever phenomenon] rather than just one paper that’s getting extra traction in the media.
The above but for pretty much any source cited by Japanese newspapers in general, because there seems to be a universal rule that they don’t do external links and they usually only give identifiable information as translated into Japanese, which makes it extra annoying when the source is in another language.2
It’s also easier to check for references made to the same article but syndicated on different sources or translated into different languages. (On that note, see the suggestions below.)
Previously I would manage these (if at all) using notes I’ve made, including my own Bluesky posts, but then I would have to remember what to search for, which can be an issue given the context above.
Alternately, I would have to search for the information all over again, and a lot of times I admittedly end up being too lazy to do it, which leaves me with less context for whatever I’m reading. People with better memories could probably just, well, remember, but this is not something my brain can adequately handle.
Suggestions, if I may
So… As long as we’re on this subject, I have a few suggestions/requests that I’ve been reticent about adding to User Input because I’m not sure whether other people would also want them or not (or whether they’re even good ideas at all):
New connections
Translations, which I do NOT consider to be “Same As.” Aside from the obvious question of accuracy (especially with so many websites directly implementing machine translations), there can also be changes or additional context for audiences in the target language
Maybe for syndications in that they can be iffy as “Same As” (but I’m not against just continuing to use “Same As” with notes)
I think there might’ve been another one… I’ll add it if it comes to me, will tag you if I do (see what I mean about my memory)
The ability to show connections on links connected as “Same As” (and maybe translations?) just to be able to check them all at once, maybe in a foldout like the “Also liked” section on Witchsky
Additions after publishing
I forgot to note that it also helps with discovery or new context etc. if I’m looking at connections made by other users, but I assume that’s kind of a given and true for everyone
It also helps me remember whether a paper or article has been retracted or otherwise disputed, like someone named as an author posting on social media that it was in fact not written by them (example)
Oh yeah, another connection type I’ve wanted is for updates, like if there’s an important update to the link, including retractions for papers (although retractions specifically can be covered with “Opposes”) or maybe the link is now being redirected because of rebranding etc. (which could be covered with “Same as”). But this one might not be interpreted the same way by everyone and I’m not sure whether it would be useful (and also, the specific examples I’m thinking of right now can be covered with existing connection types, but I swear there was something that ideally required an “updates” category)