Mind Mapping is a technique that allows users to create relationships out of pieces of information. It is extremely useful when a group of people are brainstorming a particular issue or idea and can be used to open up to ideas that you may not have normally thought of. It is a creative way to think around an topic and allows people to visualize thoughts and relationships in a meaningful way.

Historically, mind mapping (loosely related to concept mapping) started off with a group of people in a room standing around a blackboard/whiteboard and throwing ideas around. These ideas can then be joined to other ideas and spawn off sub-ideas, etc etc. A mind map application brings that level of interactivity and creativity onto your desktop computers. Mind mapping has a use both in the work space as well as at home.

There are a number of free Mind Mapping tools out there that you can use in your browser or as downloadable applications. I’ll try and list a few of them here.

1. FreeMind (Home Page)

This is currently my favorite mind mapping tool and one that I have used often in the past. Written in Java and it needs to be downloaded and installed on your machine. It can run across Windows as well as Linux and is easy to use and understand.

You can create sub trees easily and navigation is well thought out as well as the user interface.

The user can export into a variety of formats and can search amongst the map nodes. FreeMind maps can be imported/imbedded across a variety of Wiki’s and content management systems (CMS).

FreeMind is currently one of the most popular free tools for mind mapping or brainstorming.

2. XMind (Home Page)

XMind comes in both a free and “Pro” version, and is frequently compared to FreeMind as an excellent mind mapping tool. Downloadable and installed on your machine, its a Java based application that can be used to easily create mind maps (amongst others) and shared on the web on XMind’s website. This encourages collaboration amongst the web users and creating mind maps is easy and intuitive.

XMind supports external attachments and image imbedding and once created, the user can export to a variety of formats. Sharing is done via XMind’s website however, private sharing is only available on the pro version.

3. Bubbl.Us (Home Page)

A simple web based application that allows the user to create mind maps online. This is a free application that allows the user, once registered, to create mind maps and share, email, download or imbed their mind maps on their blogs/websites.

There is nothing to download and install as its all web based. It has an extremely intuitive user interface and the bottom right corner of the screen has contextual help so mousing over any element will provide you with an immediate help section.

You don’t need to register to play with the application, so by all means have a look at bubbl.us as an option. Have a look at their blog for more details.

4. Mind42.Com (Home Page)

Another web based mind mapping tool that doesn’t require any downloading or installing. It allows for easy creation of mind maps and collaboration/sharing of these maps to promote brainstorming.

Featuring abilities to import and export maps, an extensive help section and an intuitive user interface, Mind42 is an excellent web based alternative to create your mind maps.

5. Compendium (Home Page)

Significantly more complex than FreeMind but packed with features, Compendium provides a visual environment for users to map and manage their ideas collaboratively. It provides for a richer user interface including stencils and custom graphics that goes well above and beyond simple shapes that FreeMind may have.

A fully matured application having been around since for over a dozen years, it may be well above most casual users requirements. However, if you are a small firm that wants more than what FreeMind may offer, this is a recommended (albeit complex) application that you can base your mind mapping off.

Again, written in Java and able to run across platforms.

6. Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) (Home Page)

Another Java based application allowing for use across platforms, VUE was created for the purposes of creating mind maps around digital resources. It has a rich user interface and supports plug ins to add value to the generic shapes that is included in most concept mapping software. It is possible to include a variety of media types as elements on your mind maps in VUE including integration with Flickr, Twitter, Yahoo, etc.

The team is currently working on the next version of VUE and the “upcoming features” list looks rich with improvements.

Conclusion

There are many mind mapping and brainstorming applications available on the internet. The above are just some of the free ones available currently. Let us know what your mind map tool of choice is :)