Reading time: 6 – 9 minutes
Last year, I attended a mind mapping seminar. If you do not know what a mind map is, go here for a quick summary or scroll down to the bottom of the post for a video.
Mind mapping is a powerful tool, which appeals to both right and left-brain thinkers. It is allows you to become more productive in your business and personal life. Here is a short list of situations where you might use it:
- Creating content for presentations
- Problem solving
- Designing a website
- Developing a business plan
- Project planning
- Brainstorming
- Information management
- Prioritization
- Personal development
- Be more creative
- Organizing information
- Communicate effectively
There is an overwhelming number of products out there which do some form of mind mapping, diagramming or other visual thinking service. It was time to compile a list, partly because I would like to settle in with one of these tools; the other reason is I want to hear what you think about them before I make a decision.
- Buzan World- Mind map originator Tony Buzan’s website and product site iMindMap®
- NovaMind – check out some of the educational videos on what mind mapping is about and why you need it. Keep up to date on their blog here.
- Mindomo – internet and desktop applications with free basic starter and upgrade plans
- FreeMind – Free mind mapping software written in Java. Download available through this site.
- MindManager - A Mindjet product free trial or subscription is available. Applications for iPhone, remember to check out their template gallery.
- Mappio – A free website to share your mind map with others
- Comapping – Free to low subscription rates for online mind mapping software. Beta desktop version is available.
- Edraw Soft – Vector based mind mapping freeware
- Mapul – Free web-based online mind mapping tool
- MindApp 6 – Free download trial available or take advantage of their special price of $29 for a limited time.
- Mindmeister – Free to enterprise plans available for online mind mapping. Featured maps.
- Xmind – Free and pro versions are available. Check out the XMind blog here to get new ideas.
- SmartDraw – Automatically draws and formats your mind mapping diagram.
- bubbl.us - Get started immediately when you land on this page – it is free. The video at the bottom of the page features this application.
- Glinkr – Open source, free web based mind mapping software, supported in Firefox, Opera and Internet Explorer.
- Mindview 3 – Professional mind mapping software with a free trial available
- Mind42 – Free web based application with the ability to collaborate.
- Visual Mind - Software based on the mind mapping technique.
- WiseMapping – Free software in beta version.
- Imagination Cubed – Free, free-form drawing program with limitations in creating mind mapping.
- Project Draw – Free drawing program with preformed basic shapes.
- Gliffy – Online diagram software that offers a free trial
- LooseStitch – Free or pay for pro. Create outlines and share documents.
- ThinkFold – Real time collaboration with work groups on projects, documents and presentations. Open source, free, beta version. Keep up to date on their blog here.
- Sproutliner – Free web based service to manage projects and ideas. Open source, beta version.
- Inspiration 9 – Visual mapping, outlining, writing and making presentations.
This is a quick video that shows how you can begin to mind map quickly.
Mind Mapping – Part One – Bubbl.us (a)
Now it is your turn. Which mind mapping products have you used? What do you like or dislike?
Lynn Dessert owns Leadership Breakthrough, improving personal communication and influence one-step at a time. Post your thoughts or email me!
Identify, acknowledge and resolve the elephant in your life. Why wait? Contact me today.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lynn,
I use a combination of MindManager and Personal Brain Pro (www.thebrain.com).
Mindmanager in my work(shop) relations with others and Personal Brain to keep track of all sorts of different aspects and things of/in my personal and professional world and life.
Both are quite robust and mature AND work with MS Outlook.
I also use MaxThink (www.maxthink.org) as a very powerful outliner. Outlines can be converted to mindmaps.
Outlines can be seen as hierarchical representations of mindmaps. Within MindManager, you can also switch between outline and mindmap representation. But MaxThink has a lot of tools to manipulate items/nodes/relations as a powerful production tool.
These tools can very well be used in meetings, workshops etc. on your own laptop or by using a beamer.
Cheers,
Ernest.
I run many Mind Mapping courses, through my company, Illumine Training. We have used MindManager for many years, as it was, for a long time, the clear market leader. However we now use iMindMap as well – primarily because the maps are more in keeping with Tony Buzan’s Mind Mapping principles. Our http://www.mind-mapping.co.uk website has lots of free information about Mind Mapping in general, software in particular – and lots of example maps too.
Thanks so much for sharing your info! I really appreciate it. I create mind maps live with groups and individuals on wall charts. As a graphic facilitator, my tools are markers, post-its, chalk pastels + the client’s content and my creativity. I love the ability to capture in one place a complex topic and to find relationships and solutions appearing right before your eyes! Thanks for sharing these links.
A good resource site for all news, reviews and tips for utilizing mind mapping software most effectively is The Mind Mapping Software Blog: http://mindmappingsoftwareblog.com.
It’s great to see Mind Mapping getting some good press. I have found it (and it’s closely related cousin Concept Mapping*) to be great tools for everything from writing a paper to gathering requirements for a new product, to doing the actual design of a product, to just analyzing and resolving problems. For me, there is nothing quite like looking at an unbalanced map to see that there is something that has either been over or under analyzed.
My favorite tool for doing this type of work is CMapTools from IHMC (http://cmap.ihmc.us ). It’s free and works very well.
* Concept Mapping is very similar to Mind Mapping, but differs in that Concept Maps are not restricted to being purely hierarchal. They may be, but often they are not. In a concept map, you are encouraged to associate “pizza” both with “lunch” and “dinner”" and “take out food.” In a typical Mind Map, “pizza” can only have one parent, not multiple parents. (Here’s a graphic example: http://alturl.com/c6yu ).
- John
Hi Lynn, Hope you are well. Love your site and posts….you are still a different kind of HR pro…
I have been doing mindmapping for a long time and I have converged on 2 tools: MindJet MIndManager and Concept Draw MindMap, an interesting tool is Cmaptools (free). There are a lot of free tools out there, all have their pro’s and con’s but these first 2 have very powerful integration with office which is what I find ultimately helps me be more effective and efficient. None of them will help make better ideas….the value is in the framework for organization. I have used them for project planning, writing papers, websites, business plans, etc…they are not cheap, but I have found the money to be well spent.
My sincere thanks to everyone who shared their sources and tips – they will be very useful for a program that I am developing for a corporate sales team. I have used the mind mapping process off line as Karen has done. With today’s technical savvy employee and global requirements for teaming and communication, the online versions will enhance this group’s ability to utilize mind mapping in their projects.
I use the free version of XMind. Although it has limitations, it suits my current needs. I use it for mapping my goals, yearly and monthly, as well as tracking my progress. I have also used it for creating presentaion outlines and content. It’s a very basic program, so I don’t think it would be a good choice for your applocation.
Hi Lynn,
Thank you for sharing this, it’s a great list.
I would like to point out Seavus DropMind™. It is an excellent mind mapping tool and offers a variety of features like simultaneous collaboration so you can chat in real time with friends and colleagues, work on the same map and make changes at the same time. Moreover, it offers a project management integration, Google integration, seamless integration between desktop and web application and powerful Export/Import options. You should try it.
Best regards,
Nina
You’re right, there is an overwhelming number of products out there of this type. I have a site with just about all the mind mapping and visual information organizers on it that I’ve been maintaining for more than four years. At present it has 292 entries for current products.
The site lets users filter the entries by map type, platform and date added.
Vic Gee (@VicGee on Twitter)
http://www.mind-mapping.org/
The master list of mind mapping &
information management software
{ 1 trackback }