This week we had the chance to catch up with Biggerplate Partner and long-term contributor Chance Brown who spoke to us about his work in the field of mind mapping, and the importance of sharing ideas and information. Chance runs one of the most popular mind mapping blogs in the world, and has contributed over 40 maps to the Biggerplate library!
1.
In 5
words, tell us what you do…
Help
people to maximize mindmapping.
2.
When
and how did you first become involved in the world of mind mapping?
I first became involved with mindmapping back in 1999. Like many, I learned about mindmapping
through the books of Tony Buzan. As
computer based mindmapping became more sophisticated, I started using
mindmapping software to capture, organize, and manage information to get things
done. My mindmapping software of choice
has been Mindjet’s MindManager. I have been using it regularly since version
6. After using mindmapping software for
business and personal projects for many years, in June 2008, I created a blog
to help others leverage the power of mindmapping. Specifically in the areas of education,
business, and personal life. My blog is
called The Mindmap Blog. This blog has allowed me to share a wide range
of mindmaps, showcase other mindmapping experts, and provide people with a
variety ways to increase their productivity with mindmapping.
3.
What
is the main focus of your work today?
Over the past 3 years, I’ve blogged about mindmapping via
The Mindmap Blog. Though I will continue
to blog about mindmapping, starting in the 4th Quarter of 2011, I
will begin offering one-on-one mindmapping coaching sessions online. These sessions will range from getting
started with mindmapping to more advanced mindmapping topics that include information
management and project management. There will be two versions of each session, a
one-hour version and a two-hour version.
The one-hour session will focus on mastering mindmapping fundamentals
with respect to a given topic area, such as brainstorming or information
management. The two-hour version will
build on the first hour by applying the learning to a business or personal
project from the participant. All
sessions will be conducted using Fuse web-based meeting
software. MindManager will be the
mindmapping software used during all sessions.
4.
What
is it that excites you about the mind mapping arena?
I am most excited about the fact that mindmapping is gaining
greater traction in the workplace as a key productivity tool. Mindjet, for example, recently released
MindManager 2012 which will help knowledge workers quickly leverage the
benefits of mindmapping. With this
release, Mindjet has introduced a wide range of templates and processes to help
people effectively use mindmapping for brainstorming and capturing ideas,
organizing research, creating project plans, developing strategies, and
managing meetings. Additionally, with
Mindjet Connect, their free cloud based service, teams can now collaborate with
mindmaps as never before. As more
people learn about these tools and how they can literally transform the way you
work, I think the mindmapping community will grow dramatically. Biggerplate, of course, is helping with this
expansion. So, thank you for your
wonderful site! Did I say I’m excited about
Biggerplate? Well, I am.
5.
How
can you help Biggerplate members to do more with mapping?
I can help Biggerplate members do more with mapping in two
ways:
- Members can download any
of my 45 mindmaps that have been uploaded to Biggerplate (as of 12/20/11). Members can use these
mindmaps as resources on various topics.
Additionally, members can use these maps to generate ideas for
creating and sharing their own mindmaps with the Biggerplate community.
- For members interested in having
a mindmapping expert walk them through the process of creating and leveraging
mindmaps for increased productivity and effectiveness, they can attend one
of my one-on-one mindmapping coaching sessions.
6.
In
your opinion, what are the merits of a site and community like Biggerplate?
I’ve been a big fan of Biggerplate for a few years now. The site has come a long way and today it is truly
the premier mindmap library on the Internet.
In my opinion, there are three primary benefits of the Biggerplate site
and community:
1. Biggerplate
offers visual thinking approaches from
people all over the world providing insight, knowledge, and visual creativity.
2. Biggerplate
allows you to download any of the thousands of mindmaps directly to your
computer or iPad.
3. Biggerplate
allows you to share your own maps with the community enabling you to make a
contribution to the variety of maps and overall growth of the site.
7.
Anything
new and exciting coming up in your world?
My new one-on-one
mindmapping coaching sessions via Fuse web-based meeting software. Though each session will have clear
objectives, they will also be flexible and tailored to the needs of each
participant.
The first three sessions will be:
1. Coaching
Session 1: Getting Started with Mindmapping
2. Coaching
Session 2: Using Mindmapping as a Brainstorming and Collaboration Tool
3. Coaching
Session 3: Using Mindmapping to Manage Your Files, Folders, and Websites
All mindmapping software demonstrations will be conducted
with MindManager. However, many of the
mindmapping concepts discussed during each session can be applied to other
mindmapping software applications, such as iMindmap, Novamind, Xmind, etc.
We would like to thank Chance for his continued support of Biggerplate, and the excellent contribution he has made to our mind map library, and the world of mapping in general through his blog.
To view mind maps by Chance Brown, click here>
To view the Mind Map Blog, click here>
To find Chance on Twitter, click here>
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