The Mind Mapping Software Weblog

What type of collaboration is needed for mind mapping software?

Alexander Tyagulsky, marketing manager at CS Odessa (the developer of ConceptDraw MINDMAP), is looking for your help. Specifically, he's looking for feedback on how you're collaborating using mind maps. He has identified four different scenarios for map sharing and collaboration:

1. Sharing your maps in read-only mode (where your map is published each time you make changes to it, but others viewing it cannot edit it)
2. Real-time team brainstorming (where team members can add ideas, but only one person can edit the map)
3. Embedding your map into a blog, wiki or web page, again with real-time updates but no capability for others to edit it.
4. Simultaneous editing of a single map by multiple people (where all participants can edit the map in real time).

So what's your opinion? What type of collaboration is really needed for desktop mind mapping software? Please share your ideas with Alex. Thanks!

Using Visio to create custom topic shapes for MindManager

Michael Scherotter recently posted a screencast in his blog at Mindjet Labs that demonstrates how to create a custom topic shape in Visio, export it in a MindManager compliant format, and how to load it into MindManager as a reusable "map part." Pretty cool!

Michael, who headed Mindjet Labs and was the evangelist for the MindManager Solution Platform, recently left the company to take on a similar software evangelist position at Microsoft. Best of luck in your new job, Michael!

Read my review of OpenMind 2 Business Edition

I have just finished writing a review of MatchWare's new OpenMind 2 Business Edition on my InnovationTools website. Among the highlights:

• Two-way integration with Microsoft Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Project) is impressive
• Timeline and GANTT views should be popular with business users who need to do project management
• Many well-designed features that seem to have been developed with simplicity and ease of use in mind.

Read my review to find out why I gave it 5 stars, and why I believe it should be on your short-list of must-consider mind mapping software programs.

Brief review of NoteMind

Here's a link to an interesting, albeit brief, review by Stewart McKie of the Mac OS X software program NoteMind. Unlike conventional mind mapping software, which enables you to capture a set of ideas in visual form, NoteMind lets you collect and organize information in one view - a personal knowledge base - which can then be displayed as a mind map.

The program enables you to index external files, snippets of text from web pages and more. It can also search and index your computer's hard drive and the web to find similar information, which you can add to your collection of information. While not strictly a mind mapping program, NoteMind does have some similarities, and it sounds like a fascinating information management tool!

The need for a common file format

Eric Blue recently placed a call to action on his blog, calling for the developers of mind mapping software to adopt a common file format. With the recent explosion of web-based mind mapping tools (MindMeister, Mindomo, etc.), Eric points out that mind mapping is being exposed to a much larger audience today than ever before. Because these web-based tools are free (for now), they have  lowered the bar, making it possible for more people to play with them and learn about the power of software-produced mind maps.

The primary advantage of a common file format is that it would make it much easier for users to share their maps, no matter what program was used to create them.

But this idea faces a major hurdle. Getting the major developers of mind mapping software, who are competing with each other, to agree on a common file format is bound to be difficult. They would probably view this from a "What's in it for me?" standpoint. If you have a user locked into a proprietary file format or system, it's harder for them to switch. On the other hand, if you adopted a common file format, switching costs would be dramatically lowered, and you could lose customers.

Is there a way around this hurdle? The answer would seem to be some sort of a common XML format that each mind mapping software program can reliably export to and import from. This would enable users to share files, while preserving most of the proprietary advantages of the major software vendors. Several developers, such as Mindjet, have already moved in this direction, because XML makes it easier to export map data to project management software, for example. What's needed now is an agreed-upon XML definition that all vendors can support.

CS Odessa launches Brainstorm Lite

Remember I told you earlier this month that CS Odessa (developers of ConceptDraw MINDMAP) launched a ConceptDraw Labs, and that they were beta testing a program called Brainstorm Lite? Well, it's now out of beta and has been officially released by the developer, as of yesterday.

Brainstorm Lite is an application for Mac OS X that enables users to record ideas in timed brainstorming sessions. These ideas can then be exported to nearly any mind mapping software program using the OPML standard, or to TXT or RTF text-based formats for further development in your favorite text editor or word processing program.

Brainstorm Lite is free download from ConceptDraw Labs.

Contest: Mind map your resume

Here's an intriguing mind mapping contest: The author of the eDragonu Blog, Dragos Roua, which covers David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) personal organizational methodology, is holding a contest for the best and most creative resume - in visual map format. The prize is a free license for MindManager 6.

I normally wouldn't highlight a contest like this, but the focus of it really intrigues me. I've often bounced the idea of a mind map resume around in my head, but have never tried to create one. The challenge, I think, is to keep it simple and visually compelling enough that someone who is not a mind mapping fan can read, understand and appreciate the creativity that went into it. Most corporate HR departments like the standard resume format - it's consistent, and does a pretty good job of communicating a candidate's experience. But it's boring as hell!How would they view a mind map resume coming across their desk? Probably with a certain amount of suspicion.

Another part of the challenge is condensing your background and experience into a single-page mind map, while still keeping fonts to a readable size. If you have a fair amount of job experience, that could be a tall order!

I can't wait to see what the winning entries in this contest look like. Please be sure to read Dragos' rules before submitting your mind map resume. For example, you must publish a blog, and you must submit your map in native format, not as an image file. The deadline for this contest is April 15, 2007.

Comparison of web-based mind mapping applications

During the last month or two, the new class of web-based mind mapping applications have generated a lot of excitement. But no one has done a side-by-side comparison of their features and functionality. So I decided to take on that challenge. The chart below is based on what the developers have published on their websites, as of today:

	Mindomo	Mind- meister	Bubbl.us	Think- ature
Topics
Topic text styles
Topic fonts
Topic shapes
Topic colors
Topic icons/symbols
Hyperlinks
Topic notes
Topic images
Free positioning of topics
Topic boundaries
Relationship lines
Task info on topics
Map features
Support for keyboard shortcuts
Undo command
Map zoom
Filter topics by level
Types of map layouts supported	7	1	1	1
Collaboration/map sharing
Collaboration - real time
Collaboration - non-real time
Map output
Print maps
Export to MindManager
Export to FreeMind
Export to Word/RTF
Export to image file
Publish map to web/blog
Other capabilities
Import maps from MindManager
Import maps from FreeMind

A solid green circle means a feature is currently implemented; a hollow blue circle indicates a feature is planned (only Bubbl.us has indicated which features it plans to introduce in the future).

After viewing these features side-by-side, several patterns emerge, at least in my mind:

1. Mindomo has the most well-developed user interface and the greatest number of features, but real-time collaboration has taken a back seat, at least for now. Also, it doesn't offer as many import and export options as MindMeister.
2. MindMeister's initial focus has been on enabling real-time collaboration, but it's now catching up in the area of features by adding new ones every week or two. It has also taken a remarkable early lead in the area of enabling import from and export to desktop-based mind mapping software (MindManager and FreeMind). If you want to be able to begin work on a map on your desktop, then transfer it to a virtual workspace for further development and collaboration with your team, MindMeister is the only application that can currently do that.
3. Thinkature seems to be far behind the other three applications, but the developer actually has a different philosophy: I don't believe, based upon what I can see on their website, that they ever intended to create a fully-functional web-based mind mapping tool. Rather, their organizational metaphor is virtual "note cards," which can be moved around a workspace and connected to each other to show simple relationships.

I welcome your thoughts and observations on this comparison. Please post your comments!

Helping new users get up to speed with mind mapping software

One of the hallmarks of a well-designed software program is how well it eases the way to competency for new users. Two mind mapping software programs that do a good job of this are OpenMind 2 from Matchware and NovaMind 3.2 from NovaMind Software Pty.

OpenMind 2 has a lot of great features that seem to have been designed with maximum usability in mind. But one that really stands out for me is the elegant way in which it handles map styles. The OpenMind 2 interface includes tabbed panels along the right side of the workspace, which provide access to the most common tasks. One of these is the multimedia panel, which contains a set of 12 map styles. Each style contains a set of definitions for how the central topic, connector lines, topics and subtopics should appear, and each one is attractive and highly functional. To apply a new style to your map, you simply drag and drop a map style into your workspace, and your map is instantly transformed into that style. For new users, who may find it challenging to figure out how to adjust the appearance of individual elements of their map, much less come up with a combination that's attractive, this is a real plus!

NovaMind v3.2 helps users to position their map branches accurately, without unnecessarily restricting branch positioning. It accomplishes this throuh a unique "snap lines" feature, which helps users to vertically align branches to each other. If a dragged branch is aligned with another branch above or below it, a blue dashed line will appear, showing you which branch NovaMind has found for you to align with. The branch will then “snap” to exact alignment. Of course, if you don't want perfectly aligned branches, you can simply ignore the visual feedback of the dotted line. This feature is undoubtedly inspired by graphic design programs like Adobe Illustrator, where alignment of specific elements of your drawing is critical to an attractive end result. This feature makes it easier for newbies to create attractive visual maps using NovaMind.

In both cases, these programs help users to create a better end result, without getting in the way. Considering that mind mapping software is a fairly young but fast-growing software genre, chances are that a lot of users of it are fairly new to it. That makes little usability enhancements like these even more important. Kudos to Matchware and NovaMind Development for making our lives just a little bit easier!

Review calls 3D TopicScape "an extremely effective mind mapper"

3D Topicscape is a program that takes visual mapping into compelling new territory. It displays your ideas and data in a 3D workspace that resembles a series of mountain peaks, and enables you to "fly through" 3D space to view your information from different perspectives. Recently, Chris from the RevolutionCalling blog posted an interesting review of 3D Topicscape, calling it "an extremely effective mind mapper."

One of the program's key strengths, as Chris sees it, is that 3D Topicscape can do a better job of visually representing complex relationships between topics/items than a 2D mind mapping software program can. Also, in 3D Topicscape, each topic or node can actually be a collection of information concerning that topic, including such things as Outlook messages, contacts and more. He also believes that it does a better job of handling complexity than a conventional mind map, which gets harder to read and navigate as the number of topics and subtopics increases.

On the downside, Chris acknowledges that 3D Topicscape has a significant learning curve. Its user interface and conventions for performing specific operations also take some getting used to. Overall, he gives it a "guardedly positive" vote.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that 3D Topicscape doesn't really fit into the category of mind mapping software. It's a powerful tool for visualizing information, but I wouldn't classify it as a mind mapping application. What do you think? Please post your opinions in the comments section of this blog post.