MindApp

Googling Using Mind Maps

dave — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:51:44 +0000

Whenever I want to learn something new I just fire up my browser and start googling. The wealth of information that floods into my browser can sometimes be overwhelming. There are usually tons of new terms and ideas that I’ve never heard of before. To keep from drowning in this sea of information I use mind maps to help me sort, breakdown and analyze my information. I stumbled onto this technique a couple of years ago at the height of the financial crises. I would read articles mentioning: “mortgage back securities”, “credit default swaps”, “collateralized debt obligation” and many more terms that I didn’t have a clue what they meant. I started searching the internet and became buried in an avalanche of confusing information. Frustrated, I finally built a set of features in MindApp that allowed me to put the googled information into a mind map. Using the mind map like a set of structured notes I was quickly able to get a much better handle on the mess we were (are) really in. To see a snippet of this mind map click here.

As I discover new things, I copy and paste them into a mind map. Sometimes the map is organized into predefined categories but most often it grows organically and serendipitously. As the map grows I’m continuously reorganizing it. It lets me to see the big picture at a glance and is great way to see how the all the stuff fits together. It also gives me clues on what I might be missing and lets me keep track of where I’ve been.

The mind mapping software that you use should have several special features. First, you obviously need to be able to quickly and easily copy and paste from your browser into your mind map. Secondly, you will need to be able to copy and paste large amounts of text (maybe an entire article) into your mind map. Third, you don’t want to lose the hyperlinks that are embedded within the copied text. Finally, the mind mapping software should keep track of the source web page of the copied text. MindApp which is mind mapping software free for non commercial use has of all these features and has a video showing you how to use them.

Added Warnier-Orr

jim — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:51:02 +0000

We have recently added Warnier/Orr Diagrams to MindApp. Warnier/Orr Diagrams have been around forever and are a time tested method for hierarchical breakdowns and flowcharting. They can be used in a bunch of different fields, but are mostly seen in software design and software engineering. Warnier/Orr diagrams look similar to mind maps with some interesting differeces. Check out our Warnier-Orr example to see what the diagrams look like, and here is an overview of Warnier-Orr building blocks.

Varatek has actually been successfully selling Warnier/Orr Diagramming software for more than 20 years, so its nice to keep them alive in our newest product. Its amazing how long a good technique can stick around.

Have a look and let us know what you think.

“Mind Map” vs “MindMap”

jim — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 17:15:47 +0000

As part of working with MindApp, the question always comes up whether people prefer the two terms “Mind Map” or just the one word “MindMap”. The first obvious thing to do is do a google search for each of the terms:

Mind Map: .87 hits
MindMap: 6.2 Million hits

But this doesn’t tell the who story. Using Google Insights reveals a neat stat. In searches from the US the two word version is used twice as much as the one word variant. In most European countries it is the opposite. Germany, for instance, uses the one word version 2.5x more than the two word. So, Americans like “Mind Maps” and Europeans like one.

Viewing Your Maps Online

jim — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:33:24 +0000

One cool feature of MindApp is that is can export your maps to HTML. You can then place that on the web. The diagram is rendered in flash, so viewer can interact with the diagram. Here is an example of an exported diagram: Project Management Diagram.