Month: August 2008

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The business of idea mapping

I’ve written before about how Mastering mind mapping can help at work  especially as recession looms. Well now, Chuck Frey has interviewed Jamie Nast on a closely-related topic.  Chuck has entitled the piece “Learn to think visually – or else”.

Jamie says “To this day the majority of people have not heard of mind mapping or idea mapping”.  This is amazing, but true, and it’s what motivates me most in maintaining Mind-mapping.org as a directory of information mapping software, repository of articles, and a go-to place for information about visual thinking.  And I regularly comment on blogs all over the web to get the message out about different ways of seeing and presenting ideas, plans, creativity and information.

We’ve heard Buzan say that mind maping has gone mainstream, but sadly, it really hasn’t yet, though it is increasingly popping up in unexpected corporate environments. Two of the people responsible for that are Nast and Frey!

Vic Gee
http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/
The master list of mind mapping &
information management software

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Origins of mind mapping and concept mapping [updated]

For too long now we have had many statements about the origins of visual mapping but there are too few examples, to my way of thinking.

walt-disney-mind-map-reuse-tny.pngI’ve just written about early visual thinking maps and included a couple of cases.

If any can add to the list by providing other early examples, I’d love to have the chance to display them (with acknowledgement and link back) in this newly-begun collection.  Please email me: vic [at] mind-mapping [dot] org.  Idea Sunbursting is a particular case I’d like to carry an example of.

Vic

 [Update, 27th Aug: linked fixed, thanks to Matthew of Banxia.]

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Quick – 5 hours to go as I write [Update: It’s gone now!]

 

edraw.jpgOne of my informants, the ever-helpful Sue, has pointed out to me that Giveaway of the day has a free download and license for EDraw MAX but there’s a mere five hour timeslot left to get this.

Sue also provided this information: “FYI — Registration is a little tricky. Open the ReadMe file. Copy the name and number, then paste them into the spaces… oh? Where are the spaces? After installing the program, when it launches for the first time: Click on help; click on BUY/register; paste in the name and number from the ReadMe file; click activate & all should be well. That registers this as a purchase; otherwise it remains a trial version that will expire.”

Thanks a bunch Sue.

Now get over there and grab it the rest of you!

Vic Gee

http://www.informationtamers.com/mind-mapping/
The master list of mind mapping &
information management software

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Where e’er you be let your mind roam free

Up to now, I would have said that uses of mind maps could fit under four main categories: Learning and teaching; creative idea generation and brainstorming; planning and managing tasks or projects; and organising  information.  Always in these, we would expect the items under a branch to be logically related to concepts or topics higher in the hierarchy.

But now, I’ve seen signs in two places of another direction.  Not an attempt to replace the others, but something refreshingly new in mind maps (to me anyway): Free association.

Mikky J has a poem and mind map combined called “Frozen” where he free associates his way down each branch.  Mikky asks people not to copy it, so please follow the link above to see it.

And Paul Foreman, who has appeared in the mind-mapping.org blog before, has a “flip it” mind map where, to fight off negative thinking, he suggests we reverse words, and look for free associations that reverse the starting point to become a positive thought.

My favourite branch is the one for “bored”.  Paul allows copying if there’s a link back as well, so you can take a look by clicking on the thumbnail here or the link above:

flip_it_mind_map.jpg

Always good to see creative new ways of using mind maps.

Vic

(With apologies to the person whose famous epitaph I paraphrased in the title.)

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