Xettel = X + Zettelkasten. Note-taking by the Zettelkasten…

March 28, 2026

Xettel = X + Zettelkasten. Note-taking by the Zettelkasten method, but with Twitter’s constraints: one card = one tweet = one atomic thought in 280 characters.

Backlinks

Connections between cards are separate cards. Each has at most two links: reply_to (continues another card) and ref (points to another thread). Very close to how Luhmann did it in his original slip-box. →

Writing & Thinking

2037821667188387946 — Xettel = X + Zettelkasten: one card = one tweet = one atomic thought

2037821910034313401 — connections between cards are separate cards, close to Luhmann's original

2037827169259585982 — xettel is for yourself first; it becomes a mirror of your mind

2037827760534798439 — writing regularly self-corrects what you consume

2037827907536720083 — don't fear being public; obscurity is worse than exposure

2041783535233814738 — thoughts in the box are atomic, but connections give them a world

2041783732001239420 — a walk through connected cards produces a new view, not new thoughts

2041785087185055803 — a collection of aphorisms is not a thinking tool; connections and counter-arguments matter

2041786419665109251 — better to save too many thoughts than to lose one important one

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