Quick Presentations ....

Here is a great way to do presentations on the fly ... no pics yet, no great graphics ... just quick and dirty presentations ... I have had to do this many times in the past ... you travel to a meeting and find out that you need to get across a complicated concept either to clarify a vision or create a framework for discussion ...

Well, working through comapping I started playing with their Make Presentations tab (the implementation of the ribbon interface is becoming standard but takes getting used to if you are not an Office 2007 person yet) ... well here is a brief example made in less than 5 mins ... I think you will see how this can work for you ... pretty slick ...

Here is a map that I made ....















Here is the clip showing the Make Presentation tab and shows how you add slide ... you need to highlight the branch you are isolating and hit create slide ... you can see the thumbnails on the bar and can create, delete, edit order and juggle the presentation as you see fit ...









This last one is the full screen showing how it looks in presentation mode ... it will run in the browser window and it then looks like any other presentation ... very concise and great tool for your work ... the only downside now is the need for the internet hookup, but I think the solution is coming ...

Further Thoughts on WHY This Works ....

I have been playing with the comapping web based application for a couple days and have been dazzled by the ease of creation and thought input served by this new iteration of the mind mapping paradigm ... from their Q&A comes this gem ..

" Before we started this project, we had a feeling (based on the many years of developing and reviewing mindmaps with learning objectives with people all over the world), that we should look further into how people were actually working with mindmaps. We then observed quite a few users both in terms of their mapping process in general. We also analysed more specifically how the use of a computer facilitated building - and reviewing - the content and semantic structures in the mindmaps. The conclusion was striking: people were more confused - and less efficient - when they were building or trying to review a part of a map that had the topics around a center especially going from right to left.

We have a hypothesis that the reason is tightly related to the fact that we read from left to right: Topic organized from left to right gives a much faster overview of the semantic structure - probably because you can physically see the topic in less eye spans."

I think their research has paid off as the ease of use is noticeable ... things seem to flow and ideas are captured rapidly ... this takes the interface out of the way and allows the creation of the map to be effortless ... there are very few distracting additions and it really appears this was designed (and successfully I believe) to enable the process rather than to be the process ... I have played with the export both to MindManager and to Word and I can say that this creates entirely useable outputs that speeds the creative process ... I used a quick export to word to format a document highlighting a sales presentation ... really really efficient ... I always use some sort of mind mapping tool to do this as it ensures the flow of the work and also allows the overall picture to be easily grasped and also to make sure the details are properly presented ...


I am also enthralled with the way the interface re-layout function functions in a seamless manner and again functions without conscious effort ... I have included three screen shots of the same map, the first is the overall map ... when you highlight one of the branches and hit the focus button, you get screen two .. do this again and you drill down to the third shot ... all effortless and all very intuitive ... the best programs are those that don't require thought or get in the way of the work ... I think from what I've discovered this may become one of those that enables creative expression, thought processes enhanced by technology ....

Some Thoughts on Thinking ....

I kept coming back to some points in my mind today that have clarified why I am feeling comfortable with the new mapping program comapping .... the thought process is explained in this excerpt from their FAQ ...

"We have spent a significant amount of time on this subject. We are highly passionate about human-computer interface stuff and this challenge appeared to be right in the middle of it.

Before we started this project, we had a feeling (based on the many years of developing and reviewing mindmaps with learning objectives with people all over the world), that we should look further into how people were actually working with mindmaps. We then observed quite a few users both in terms of their mapping process in general. We also analysed more specifically how the use of a computer facilitated building - and reviewing - the content and semantic structures in the mindmaps. The conclusion was striking: people were more confused - and less efficient - when they were building or trying to review a part of a map that had the topics going from left to right.

We have a hypothesis that the reason is tightly related to the fact that we read from left to right: Topic organized from left to right gives a much faster overview of the semantic structure - probably because you can physically see the topic in less eye spans."

Through my many years using maps to illustrate concepts to business colleagues I thought not so much about how I got there, but rather the end result ... several other points were made that goes to address why this app feels and acts so differently ... are you primarily right or left brained, do you get concepts with color and organic layouts or are you more for presentations that flow more linearly ... I have found that though organic, art filled, maps do convey a message and can be a quick take ... but in a business setting, it can distract from getting the message across ...

The shot at the right is a map from the Australian Buzan Center Web Site (Tony Buzan is the acknowledged father of mind mapping ... as you can see this is a wonderful depiction of thoughts and what a mind map should do ... Conceptually vivid this for a whole brained person makes a very visual presentation ...



Now I have taken several of the key branches and transferred to a simple mind map using the new comapping website (took 5 mins max) ... this is the type of layout for presenting concept in a business setting that I use ... there needs to be more emphasis and relations than this, but just the feel is illustrative of the point being made ...

I have linked the Q&A, there are many points that are made in the design of this ... I think the points are a valuable insight into thoughts on thinking ....

New Application Shows Great Promise ...

Hi all, been feverishly working on a new project so have been a little quiet ... I was emailed by a new group that has an application out called Comapping .. this is a great web based tool for mindmapping ... I tried it over the past few days to work on some of my project and was totally blown away by the interface ... see first shot ... I see the purpose of this application to create an interface that doesn't interfere with the idea flow .... normally in the course of my day I tend to switch between machines and have several different settings for the screen real estate ... this new web based app truly shines in fully utilizing the screen ... it is truly seamless in the way the map grows out and extremely fluid in highlighting your work ... one of the big problems as your map grows on a small screen is readjusting the view as you go from branch to branch ... in this app, you just go to the branch and hit tab, it then fills the screen .... everything is fluid and is the best implementation of a web based map that I have found to date.

Of prime importance to my work is the interchange between anything I am doing with my MindManager desktop app ... Comapping shines in this, below is the mind map that I took to MindManager ... really smooth ... so far so good, I would give this 5 stars on ease of use ... this is simply an app that was made to work and get out of your way while creating ... in that sense, it is what this genre is supposed to be ... (PS, Maps are all in one flavor of presentation format ... interesting discussion on their site re that basis for this ... there seems to be a lot of basis and thought behind the design and implementation ... it works for me )

PPS ... service is free to try and will be for charge after 30 days ... $11.99 for 6 months

When Evolution Becomes Revolution ....

I was fortunate yesterday to get an invitation to the early unveiling of the new MindManager 7 product from Mindjet ... it was an incredible look at something that I feel will be both an evolution and revolution for users .... my first impressions were extremely favorable and look forward to getting my hands on the new version to work with.

Let me start this with a little background ... I have been a user of Office 2007 for several months now as I really rely on the OneNote 2007 application, so getting the rest of the suite was the best deal for the money. At first, I was not happy with the "ribbon" interface (teaching old dogs new tricks), but have come to really like it and have seen a jump in speed and productivity from just this feature ... I now really like the interface and find the old one very cumbersome ... SO, when I first saw the demo screen for the new Mindjet product it was a great surprise to see the "ribbon" up there and functioning on the presentation ... it was one of those "wow" moments that Microsoft has been pushing and served to make my enthusiasm for the new product ratchet up a notch ... not that the old UI was bad, but this new look is truly breathtaking ... it is like a new product has been made.

I think this is evolutionary for many long time users and sets the stage for that unified working space that has evolved ... I normally go back and forth between word, powerpoint, project based software and mindmanager ... all of these tools function in my normal workspace to tackle all sorts of tasks ... I think though, this represents how a user who has come down the long road of applications will view it ...

The new product now has the potential to truly revolutionize the user base .. with the now consistent ribbon interface and ease of generation of concept .. I think the instant gratification of a beautiful finished map of an idea or project will immediately appeal to new users ... it has the potential to become the paradigm for creative thought and conceptual presentations ... even more revolutionary will be showing this to a user for the first time using inking ... when you take it to that level, it reaches the point of being a must have ...

If you are interested in all the features, here is a great writeup of the new product features (many of which are useful to me, all of which will be useful to many) ... The Mind Mapping Software Weblog is a great source on information and commentary on this topic ... The release date is the end of the month, so until then I will keep mapping with MM Pro 6, but will post more on this after I use the new product and create maps ...