2007—Year of the Mind Map

December 29th, 2007 · 2 Comments

2007 was the year of the mind map and my year to learn about mind mapping. Every major software company released new and improved versions, and no less than five web-based applications were introduced.

Software Mind Mapping

The year began slowly, as I explored the available software. The first software application I discovered was FreeMind. This open-source product was a good place to start, but its weaknesses left me wanting more. Next was ConceptDraw’s MindMap 4, which was a big improvement over the no-cost FreeMind. Then I installed MindJet’s MindManager 6 and things were looking brighter. Of course, it wasn’t long before the new, updated versions were released.

Web-Based Mind Mapping

Online mind mapping came to the forefront in 2007, also. MindMeister, Mindomo, Mind42, Bubbl.us, and comapping came online to a receptive audience, eager to try the features and promises of web-based mapping, with visions of Gmail-like images dancing in their heads.

Many people found great satisfaction in these web-based mapping tools, in particular the real-time collaboration feature. I was excited about them too, but ultimately was disappointed in their limited functions.

New and Improved

Fearing the loss of potential customers, desktop mind mapping companies fought back with new and improved versions of their software.

ConceptDraw released MindMap 5, fixing many of the issues I had with version 4. A vastly improved product, I used MindMap 5 exclusively for several months, having only a few issues with the operation of the product.

Then MindManager Pro 7 came out. This release by MindJet took the already industry leading mind mapping software well past the competition and straight into my computer. MindManager Pro 7’s new ribbon interface took some getting used to, but the advanced features were the big selling point. The bar had been raised.

Other Desktop Tools

Other than the products mentioned above, I have looked at and/or tried the following software applications over the course of 2007. Most are niche products, but several are worthy of more exploration.

Cmap
Personal Brain
3D Topiscape
NovaMind
Compendium
Thoughtex
xMind for Mac users
MindGenius
MindVisualizer
iMindMap

Even though there are other applications, these represent the ones I spent some time looking at.

Motivation on the Run resources

If you’re interested in reading more of my thoughts about mind mapping through 2007, here are links to different articles on Motivation on the Run.

I might have chronicled the journey better, which will be a part of the goal for 2008, but learning about mind mapping has been a productive adventure and I now use MindManager Pro 7 daily. In fact it’s hard to remember doing without mind mapping as part of the daily routine.

2008 Goals

The goal in this area for 2008 is Wikis. Like mind mapping before, I’ve seen and used wikis a little, but I want to get a better understanding. As part of the goal, I will document the process better, if for nothing else than my future information.

With Wikipedia as the granddaddy of all wikis, it is the driving force in learning how to put the knowledge of my brain into a collection of thoughts and memories, easily searchable and editable. In a way, that’s a scary thought, but by the end of 2008 I’ll see where the trip leads.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and is preparing for a safe New Year.

Tags: Information · Leadership

2 responses so far ↓

1 mind mapping » Blog Archive » 2007—Year of the Mind Map // Dec 29, 2007 at 6:31 pm

[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
2 2008—Year of the Wiki // Jan 4, 2008 at 4:52 pm

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