We've looked at quite a few mind mapping tools here on Webware. Most recently, Webware's Rafe Needleman checked out a half dozen services that do the job one way or another. Nearly all of them require you to build and develop maps in a giant 2D space, something I think most people will spend more time trying to figure out rather than simply getting ideas down, which is where Text2MindMap is quite handy.
Instead of having you build out your ideas on some huge network of nodes, the tool lets you simply write down a list. Whenever you place indents, it will separate the bundle of items into a node, with little sub-nodes below each one. It makes it delightfully simple to put together huge mind maps in a very short amount of time--and without futzing about with any special control schemes or overly ambitious UIs.
Missing are some advanced bits, like special icons to help categorize what each node is, or a way to zoom around the canvas once your work becomes a giant storm of items. The key thing here is simplicity.
When done mapping your ideas you can save it as a JPEG file. You can also simply save the text list for later. One thing I'm not too keen on is that if your list is more than about 18 lines you've got to scroll back and forth to see all of your text items. If you're seriously ambitious about creating a large mind map you can come back to and collaborate on with others, this is not the best service. The upside to that is that it's great for creating small shopping lists of items you need to get from certain stores or locations. For that, it beats out the old paper list if you've got a printer handy.
Thanks for the tip, CJ!
Turn lists of text into easy-to-make mind maps with Text2MindMap. Seen here is a grocery and call list I made in about a minute. (Click to enlarge.)
(Credit: CNET Networks)At the Web 2.0 Expo, I was pushed hard to cover the new Web-based mind-mapping tool, Spinscape. The pitch I got was half demo, half introduction to the topic. I'm a big fan of outliner applications (I miss Grandview and Ecco) but the free-form mind mappers never appealed to me. I prefer a bit more structure.
After the conference, a little alone time with Spinscape did not change my opinion. This is an application that lends itself to a great demo. It looks great and it's got a lot of capability, but I found if you're using it to capture ideas, or maybe map out the ideas that pop up during a meeting, the interface slows you down, at least at first. On the other hand, if you want to annotate a map with notes, links, and pictures, and you have the time and gumption to create the map in the first place, Spinscape will handle it. It also does some useful automatic lookup in Wikipedia and other sources to fill out nodes if you're gathering data and ideas on a topic.
I did not find that Spinscape helped me think more clearly.
If in your mind's eye your ideas and plans look like molecular models, Spinscape might work for you. But if they look like outlines or Gantt charts, steer clear.
Spinscape intrigued me, since I've never used a Web-based tool like it. A quick bit of research on the Web and Twitter, and a timely news release, yielded four interesting competitors to this application. Despite the fact that they share a design point--creating graphical representations of networks of ideas--they have very different capabilities.
MeadMap is a mind mapper designed for students, and probably the best of these applications for people who think in outlines. It creates networks left-to-right, not from the center out (in Rafe terminology, the sun-and-planets view). It's fast and easy to use. It also allows real-time collaboration and supports live chat with collaborators, which is very useful. Its downside is a limited feature set: You can't import pictures, for example.
MeadMap, from the makers of the Trapper Keeper, is a good mapper for students.
Mindomo is the mind mapper for Microsoft Office junkies. Its interface mirrors Office 2007's look and feel, and it has a crazy number of little options you'll never use (just like Office). It also lets you change the overall layout of your map; it doesn't force you to use the sun-and-planet view.
Microsoft Office junkies will feel at home in Mindomo.
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MindMeister is a "mind mapping" tool that launched last month. If you're unfamiliar with mind mapping, it's somewhere between brainstorming and an organizational chart. If you've ever had to help plan a party or put together an outline for a project, mind mapping is one of the ways to organize and order your thoughts. MindMeister replaces legal pads and crumpled up pieces of paper with an online workspace that can be revised and manipulated. Users can create ideas and connect them to one another, or build their own hierarchies--it's essentially a giant canvas.
Users of Google Docs and Spreadsheets will feel right at home, as the tool shares similar features for versioning, autosave, and collaboration. There's also built-in Skype integration, assuming your collaborators have provided their Skype username. While there's no built-in chat, users can fire up a text or voice chat on Skype by clicking on another collaborator's name.
For users who don't feel like logging in to add a quick idea to their mind map, MindMeister has a few tools that help out. Called "Geistesblitz" (meaning "mind flash"), these tools consist of a widget for OS X and Vista, and a browser extension that installs itself as a search engine in IE and Firefox's search box. When you come across something you feel like writing down, you can just enter it in, and it will be sent to whatever mind map you've chosen as the default.
MindMeister offers two tiers of service--one free, and a paid premium version that runs about $4 per month. The premium version gives users an unlimited amount of mind maps, as well as the option to embed them on blogs and Web sites. I've embedded a sample mind map after the jump.
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It's like an outline, but with bubbles
(Credit: CNET Networks)Josh covered the cool workgroup suite 8apps this morning. My favorite feature in it is the free-form brainstorming tool, Blueprint. Today, we received word of another brainstorming tool: Bubbl.us. It lets you create little thought bubbles and connect them together. You also can easily move the bubbles around or change the links connecting them to each other.
There are no collaboration features in it (a real shame), but if you can fit your thoughts into little connected bubbles, try it. Also, it prints, which is a rarity for a Web 2.0 app.
There are several "mind mapping" software products available. Bubbl.us isn't in their class. But it's free and it's fun, and it might help you see connections in your own thoughts.
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