How to use mind mapping software to build your Twitter relationships

Here’s a simple but powerful way to use mind mapping software to help you build more effective Twitter relationships.

Social media, as best-selling author and speaker Chris Brogan is fond of telling us, is all about building relationships – about bringing a human element to business. If we can connect as people and build trust, then we can more easily understand others’ needs and serve them better.

Twitter is a great place to build a network of people who share common interests, to help each other find answers to pressing questions, commiserate or simply chat about life. So when I read Susan Percy’s entry in my “amazing mind mapping stories” initiative, I was blown away by her simple but profound application of mind mapping software:

Susan has used MindManager to create a mind map of the people she wants to keep track of on Twitter, along with details about what their interests are and what’s going on in their lives – ideal fodder for chatting with them. Here’s how it works, in her words:

“I write the name of the person on a branch and hyperlink that branch to the person’s Twitter page. I create main branches to organize the users by groups, for example: clients, prospects, friends. I create sub-branches from each user to add information about them, such as “likes sushi.” This helps me to easily organize who I want to stay in touch with and also information about subjects which to chat.”

Above is my attempt to re-create this concept with some of the key people I follow on Twitter (please click on the image to view an expanded version of this map with clickable links to each person and Twitter account).

At right is a close-up of one branch, where I have added details about several of them. These sub-branches are the key to this map’s value, because they help us to build more valuable relationships and greater trust. If you can refer to this “mini-dossier” when you’re chatting with someone on Twitter, doesn’t it make sense that your actions will create a higher level of trust? You cared enough to remember something about that person, and they will undoubtedly appreciate you for that.

Thanks for sharing this brilliant idea, Susan!