Choosing Another Blog Topic - Mind Map Review
There are a number of free mind map programs around. I’ve been experimenting with Mindomo. If you are thinking of a second blog and choosing another blog topic, I have brainstormed some considerations and mind mapped these.
I found Mindomo very intuitive to use. There are different fonts, box shapes, icons and mind map styles. The thumbs up and thumbs down icons would be perfect when mapping advantages and disadvantages. Size wize, I had to reduce the image to fit on the blog. For a blog the mind map would be more effective with less text.
In its original size, the Mindomo mind map could be used for visual impact when developing information products such as ebooks. A mind map could also be used for powerpoint presentations or in a print version to summarize key points.
All in all Mindomo generates an effective mind map quickly and offers a range of flexible options… and all for free. I couldn’t see an option which allows hyperlinks, however. Perhaps this is in the paid upgrade version.
Do You Use Mindmapping?
Mindmaps are great for planning as well as for pulling information together. There are even some search engines which give results in a mindmap format - great for brainstorming a topic. How do you use mindmaps? What applications can you see for writers?
Great review Yvonne!
Thanks Laura. I was surprised how easy it was to use, and how quick it was…. and it’s free. I’ll experiment with some of the other free mind map programs as well. Having a feature which allows the use of hyperlinks would be great.
I was never one for MindMapping, though I did send my kids to the classes… I wonder if anyone actually uses it on a daily basis? If so, how? I will certainly take a look at this and try it out. Thanks for the link to this resource.
Hi Calvin
Thanks for stopping by. I think it depends a bit on personal learning styles. Some people prefer a visual representation rather than just all text. Mind maps are like bullet points in a way - just the essence of the topic.
When taking notes by hand, some write “regular” notes and other takes notes or summarize info as a mind map. Mind maps can be used for both planning in coming up with ideas and possibilities, for decision making and for summarizing. I prefer to mind map on paper, but for a presentation, article or post the Mind Map program gives a professional easy to read touch.
I’d be interested to hear what you think when you’ve had a chance to try Mindomo or other mind map programs.
Does anyone else have suggestions for using mind mapping?
Hi, Yvonne,
What a way to start my vacation. Reading your post automatically shifted my gears to the next school year (chuckle). Haven’t tried mindmapping but I am already planning in using this come September. I better leap to the link you provided to learn more. Thanks for helping me shorten my steps.
Have a great weekend, Yvonne.
Princess
Hi Princess … LOL. Enjoy your vacation while it lasts.
You are one resourceful human! I love cool tools like this. Thanks for the link. I have to say that I really like my own personal, very messy way of mind mapping. I really don’t want to be organized by a program when I’m trying to take the lid off an idea. Whiteboard, chalkboard, or plain ol’ paper, scratching in the margins, turning sideways, backs of pages, etc. Having said that, I love learning new tricks…
Hi Lisa - I agree. I prefer paper or whiteboard for taking notes and mind mapping. It’s much more immediate and free flowing… someting to do with creative thought processes, I guess. I would use this more for presentation purposes for ebooks, blogs or powerpoints. It is pretty nifty though, isn’t it?
Hi Yvonne, what a great visual tool. Must admit have had very little to do with mind mapping. Usually end up with lots of little notes of scrap paper.
have linked to this article.
Cheers, liz
Hi Liz - Scraps of paper work a treat too.
Thanks for the link.
Mind mapping rocks! Some uses, especially for writers:
1. Build out the characteristics of your characters in your book. You can have a branch for “John” and sub branches for work, family, history or whatever you want to build out about a character. Add to it as you learn things and refer to it when writing the book. Same thing with places as settings in your book.
2. In a non-fiction book, you can use the branches in a mind map to take possible topics and build out the points you’d like to make. At some point, you can put them all into a table of contents, but at least all the information on the topic is in one place.
3. Take notes at a writer’s conference (or any meeting). I did this for each of my sessions in the last writer’s conference I went to and then took the last five minutes of the session to highlight those things that I wanted to do myself based upon the session. It was very easy for me to refer back to the notes and, based upon the amount of ‘color’ I identified, which sessions were most useful to me.
4. Project plans. Usually, projects have some general areas that need to be done and then specific steps that need to happen. Each of the branches on a mind map can be used for a particular subject area of a project (think of all the things to build a writer’s conference session, for example — subject areas, resources, leave-behind materials, etc…all can be a branch off of a central project of “Technology for Writers” session)
5. Brainstorming on anything particular subject of writing. Capturing these ideas and then subsequently organizing them into coherent possible actions is perfect for mind mapping.
The cool thing about mind maps is that they allow you to “just get it down” and then easily move what you have written around into something that makes sense for you. It’s not the fact that things go into a particular bucket that has mind map appeal; it’s the fact that you can get whatever out of your head and then effortlessly arrange what was in your head into a way that you can organize it and understand it. Consequently, people with very different ways of organizing things can be very successful with a mind map because the software flexibly organizes information the way you want to see it.
OK…so I should have written a blog article on this. Maybe I will!
Hi Scott - Thanks for your extensive comments and great ideas for writers. I’m pleased also to have discovered your excellent blog.
Mind Mapping Software is really do good job for user for creating mind mapping such as brainstorming, decision making, problem solving, personal plan, and so on. I experienced using several online mind mapping tools such as Mindomo, Mindmeister, Mind42 and Comapping. I found that MindMmeister and Mindomo are good tools.
Thanks for visiting and for your insights. Will be interesting to see what the next generation of mindmapping software will offer.
Thanks for the link. I have a tried several Mind Mapping tools. Applications such as MatchWare OpenMind 2 Business have a lot more advanced options such as making historical timelines or turning your mind map into a Gantt chart, but Mindomo is a really great online tool!
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