Monday, January 11, 2010

Why MindMapping?

Hand-drawn mind maps have a rich history and are widely used today, thanks to the pioneering work of people like Tony Buzan, who has written many books and speaks widely on the subject. They are a powerful, colorful and memorable way to represent ideas and information. But they only scratch the surface of what’s possible with today’s mind mapping software – an electronic form of visual mapping that utilizes many of the rules and conventions of mind mapping as a foundation, but adds some powerful new capabilities, including these ten:
  1. Mind mapping software enables you to arrange information in expandable and collapsible topic trees.
  2. Mind mapping software enables you to embed documents, links, notes and other data within the structure of your map, transforming it into the equivalent of a powerful visual database.
  3. Mind mapping software enables you to re-arrange the topics in your map at will, until it perfectly represents your ideas.
  4. A software-produced visual map isn’t just something you create once and forget about.
  5. Mind mapping software enables you to export your ideas to other types of software, such as word processors, presentation and project management software.
  6. Mind mapping software also opens up new opportunities for collaboration that don’t exist with hand-drawn maps.
  7. Another powerful advantage of mind mapping software is that you can utilize it to present your ideas, which makes it a powerful alternative to PowerPoint.
  8. Another unique capability of mind mapping software is that it can be used with an LCD projector and screen to record and display ideas during a group brainstorming session.
  9. Another unique capability of mind mapping software is that you can utilize it to create your own “information dashboard” – a map that consolidates a wealth of data that you need to manage into a single, visually-oriented screen.
  10. Finally, what makes mind mapping software unique is its flexibility. The number of different things you can do with it – from a business, education or personal standpoint – is amazing.
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