Another web-based mapping tool: Bubbl.us

Simple, web-based mind mapping tools seem to be gaining in popularity lately. Earlier this week, I told you about Thinkature. Now I’ve just discovered another online visual mapping application: Bubbl.us. It uses several keyboard commands (Enter and Tab) to enable you to add topics and subtopics, while the mouse can be used to drag and drop individual topics and change their relationships between each other. You can store maps within the service, and access them again via a personal login. Bubbl.us is free, and its developer hopes to suppport this new service via advertising.

Applications like Thinkature and Bubbl.us are very simple, and lack many of the features of desktop-based mind mapping software. But don’t underestimate them: They are only version 1.0 of what may soon become a revolution in visual mapping and collaboration. I expect these services to improve and add functionality in the near future, and they may turn out to meet the needs of some business and personal users.