A little on the difference between Arena and Sublime for those asking!

Both Arena and Sublime are social networking platforms designed for creative research, knowledge collection, and sharing.

Arena was launched in 2011, while Sublime is a newer platform, launched in 2023.

I’ve been using Arena for a few years now. It was introduced to me by a university tutor who encouraged us to use its algorithm-free, AI-free search feature and to create group Channels.

Ironically, I’ve mostly used Arena for organising open browser tabs and gathering sources for projects - the search function has never been a big part of how I use it. Over time, I’ve collated a lot of data there, enough that I pay monthly for unlimited blocks. I also use it to store links related to broader areas of interest (e.g. a Channel of links to my favourite poems), not just specific projects.

Recently, I’ve been experimenting with Sublime for some writing and research projects, mostly out of curiosity. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is the type of content: Arena is more visual, while Sublime feels more text-based and functions as a much more user-friendly (but AI-powered) search tool.

Sublime has a Canvas feature that lets you mind map and make connections between sources - something you can’t do on Arena. You can also pin things without having to place them straight into a specific collection, and overall, the user interface feels more accessible.

That said, the platform I use far more than either of these is Notion. I’ve been using it for at least 6 years for just about everything. I use it as a calendar, to take notes, make to-do lists, and keep track of applications and assignments. On Notion I have years worth of notes on essays, books, videos, podcasts, exhibitions, and general ideas.

I hope this helps! Personally, I’m using all three for slightly different purposes - Notion for writing and organising my day-to-day work, Arena for collecting and storing large quantities of links, and Sublime as a more experimental research and discovery tool.

It’s super easy to lose your mind to PKM platforms (mad respect to anyone who consistently uses Obsidian). When we spend all our time organising sources we end up getting no real work done. So go with what feels productive and abort if need be!