SmartDraw is a software program that is designed to help the average person to create great-looking diagrams, quickly and easily. But in my last job, I had very few opportunities to use it, so I really didn’t get a chance to use the latest version, SmartDraw 2010, for some real business applications. All that changed in January.

Late last week, I downloaded a copy of MindManager for SharePoint to install on my laptop for my new job. That resulted in a follow-up phone call by Mindjet SME sales representative Mike Blandford, who did a great job of shedding more light on this new product and what major problem it solves in corporate environments.

ThinkBuzan recently announced that Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind mapping, will be coming to the U.S. in May to host a variety of exclusive talks, training events and accredited courses.

Here is a new mind map that gathers over 80 of the best mind mapping resources into a single visual map that you can use as a jumping-off point for exploration.

CS Odessa, the developer of ConceptDraw MINDMAP, recently announced the availability of a free extension for Google Wave, ConceptDraw MindWave, that enables users to create visual maps within Google’s exciting new collaborative environment. This neat tool brings an important visual element to collaboration within Google Wave, which is almost 100% text based.

Mindjet recently announced a new version of MindManager 8 that enables real-time synchronization of data between SharePoint and your mind maps.

What inspires you about mind mapping? Please share your thoughts!

The ability to present information visually, in a meaningful and compelling way, is growing in importance in our increasingly complex world. But how much of this ability do you innately possess? Take this little quiz to find out!

Using mind mapping software to take notes during business meetings can be very distracting. Here are 6 powerful strategies for getting around this common objection.

I don’t get it. Mind mapping your meeting notes during business meetings, that is. I use mind mapping for many things, but that’s not one of them. What am I missing? How do you use this technique successfully to capture notes in meetings? Please share your thoughts!