Graph View Enhancement Guide
Purpose: Transform Obsidian’s graph view from a tangled mess into an insightful, navigable knowledge graph.
Current State of Graph View
Right now, the graph view probably shows:
- Scattered nodes with few connections
- Hard to distinguish company types
- No clear clusters or patterns
- Limited usefulness for navigation
Enhanced Graph Structure Strategy
I’m going to create a hub-and-spoke model with strategic cross-linking:
Hub Notes (Large Central Nodes)
These notes link to MANY others and appear as major hubs in graph view:
- Job Targeting Dashboard - COMPLETE (100+ Orgs) - Links to all 105 orgs
- Sector briefs (8 notes) - Each links to 10-20 companies in that sector
- Daily Research Workflow - Links to top 25 companies being actively tracked
- DMV Ecosystem - Strategic Insights Map - Links to key orgs in each cluster
Spoke Notes (Company Profiles)
Each company profile will link to:
- Its primary sector brief
- 3-5 competitor companies
- 2-3 related sectors (for cross-sector orgs)
- Relevant government agencies (if contractor)
- Think tanks/research orgs (if related)
Tags for Filtering
Using consistent tags enables graph view filtering:
#tier1-comp#tier2-competc. (compensation tiers)#clearance-required#no-clearance#cloud#defense#finance#healthcare#government#think-tank#ngo#data-engineering#systems-engineering#ai-ml(skill alignment)
Implementation Plan
I’ll now enhance existing notes with strategic cross-links to create meaningful graph clusters.
Phase 1: Link Companies to Sectors ✅ (Already done via sector briefs)
Phase 2: Link Competitors (Creating now)
Each company profile will link to 3-5 direct competitors, creating competitive clusters in graph view.
Phase 3: Link Partnership Ecosystems (Creating now)
- Defense contractors link to government agencies they serve
- Cloud providers link to companies using their platforms
- Think tanks link to federal agencies they research
Phase 4: Link by Skills (Creating now)
Companies requiring similar skills link together, creating skill-based clusters
Expected Graph View Result
After enhancement, graph view will show:
Visible Clusters
- Cloud Hub - AWS center, radiating to Capital One, Freddie Mac, Cvent, all contractors using GovCloud
- Defense Cluster - Primes (Lockheed, Northrop, RTX) linked to SIs (Booz Allen, Leidos) linked to agencies (DoD, NSA, CIA)
- Finance Cluster - Capital One, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Navy Federal, PenFed tightly connected
- Research Cluster - Think tanks linked to universities, federal research agencies (NIH, NASA)
- NGO Cluster - Environmental NGOs connected, humanitarian NGOs connected
- IC Cluster - NSA, CIA, NGA, NRO linked to IC contractors (CACI, Peraton, Booz Allen IC roles)
Hub Nodes (Large, Central)
- Job Targeting Dashboard (links to everything)
- Sector briefs (each links to 10-20 companies)
- AWS (links to many companies using AWS)
- Booz Allen (links to many government agencies and partners)
Color Coding (via tags)
- Blue: Defense & IC
- Green: Finance
- Orange: Cloud/SaaS
- Red: Healthcare
- Purple: Think Tanks
- Yellow: Government
- Brown: NGOs
How to Use Enhanced Graph View
1. Find Career Paths
- Click on your current company
- See which companies it links to (common career moves)
- Follow the connections to explore 2-3 step career progressions
2. Explore Sectors
- Click on a sector brief hub
- See all companies in that sector radiating outward
- Identify clusters within sector (e.g., primes vs. SIs in defense)
3. Find Competitors
- Click on a company
- See competitor links (similar companies to apply to)
- Explore alternatives if one company rejects you
4. Discover Partnerships
- Click AWS
- See all companies using AWS (potential AWS alumni hiring opportunities)
- Click Booz Allen → see all government agency connections
5. Filter by Tag
- Show only
#no-clearance→ see immediate entry options - Show only
#tier1-comp→ see highest paying orgs - Show only
#data-engineering→ see companies needing your skills
Let me now implement this by enhancing key notes with strategic cross-links…