MindGenius Mind Mapping Software Review - Silicon Republic
We only use a fraction of our brain power, so the cliché has it. A similar statistic is often trotted out about the software packages that many of us typically use in our working day. An interesting problem emerges where the two overlap.
Take Microsoft Word: a perfectly good package if you already know what you want to write and the way you want to write it. But it’s not much better than a blank sheet of paper - and arguably worse - when it comes to putting random thoughts into some kind of order. That’s not its job.
Often, our ideas are unstructured and they can amount to nothing more than a scribble on a piece of paper. Enter MindGenius Mind Mapping Software, a note-taking software package aimed at providing clarity of thought and purpose in whatever job needs doing, such as brainstorming, project management, decision making or analysis. Available in business, education and home use versions, it’s suitable for single users or work teams and it lets people put their ideas into context and create mind-maps to show how they are linked.
The software uses the principle of mind maps which have been around for a long time in various forms. Specifically, MindGenius Mind Mapping Software uses the model developed by the British psychology writer Tony Buzan. The package does require a bit of familiarity with the mind map concept, but that’s more than compensated for by an interface that’s very easy to use – not at all unlike Word and crammed with features that can be accessed via the toolbar or from the menu for the less adventurous.
What’s more, there’s plenty of handholding. When you go to open a new document, MindGenius Mind Mapping Software prompts you with one of seven possible templates according to what you’re looking to achieve. Better yet, in the same window you get a series of examples to look at for inspiration, such as a brainstorming session or a SWOT (strengths/weaknesses, opportunities/threats) analysis.
You can go for a very simple text-only map but the package can also import graphics if the presentation requires it. To take an example from close to home, I was able to draft an upcoming article by developing a mind map document. I could illustrate the various topics I planned to touch on by linking them all to a central idea and branching out in a kind of tree structure as different subjects generated various thoughts or areas to cover.
You can also import the finished mind map into a Word document so that colleagues can benefit from the fruits of your wisdom even if they don’t have the software installed on their own Pcs.
One of the many banes of our working lives is the prospect of having to gather our thoughts for a presentation or conference, to write a report or simply compile a to-do list. MindGenius Mind Mapping Software is not for the procrastinators among us, but for anyone daunted by facing a major project that involves serious brainstorming, this could be a useful aid. And, with a free trial period you’re certain not to waste your money or your time.