MindNode

There is a unique link for bloggers that I would like to share with you - sub-titles "For Bloggers By Bloggers" - the link can be found here - http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/.

The specific article that I am referencing today is one on the blogging software MindNode, and it can be found here - http://bestbloggingtipsonline.com/mindnode-best-blogging-outline-tool-ever/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BloggingTipsForBloggers+%28For+Bloggers%2C+By+Bloggers%29.

I should note that this is software that looks interesting to me, but that I have not worked with yet myself, and, since it is a Mac OS app, I won't be able to! So, what is it all about? It is called a blogging outline tool. The author of this article describes themselves as an "avid user of this tool", which I thought was a good start towards credibility!

The basis for this tool is something called "mind mapping". From the article:

The well-known motivational speaker Earl Nightengale was famous for saying, “All you need [in life] is the plan, the map and the courage to press on to your destination.”

I would say the same thing is true about blogging. If you have a plan, a well-defined map to get there and the motivation and courage to keep going till you get there, you can surmount any online obstacle. When it comes to blogs, I prefer to use a mind map to help me on the way.

According to Wikipedia, a “mind map” is defined as the following:

"A diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea."

The author goes on to explain that a mind map is a free flowing chart on how we process ideas around a specific topic. (Blogs, generally speaking, are formed around specific themes or ideas. An excellent place to mind map!) The MindNode map is available for computers, iPads and iPhones. The process? You start with one single point in the middle of the map, and work outwards from it.

The more you branch out, the more you build your article, the more detailed your article gets. At he heart of this, you can do as clean (streamlined) an article as you want, or you can get, really, really intricate! For me, this would be a great help, as I would be able to see the "image" of the article before I started writing it. My thinking is ... it would save me a huge amount of time, and my blogs would read better!

Joey Strawn, the author of this article, makes a very interesting observation: Simply sitting down to write can lead to rambling. What, me ramble? Mind mapping helps us to avoid that rabbit hole, and to write articles that flow from connection to connection. I think that I am off to look for a PC compatible version of mind mapping! How about you?

(c) February 2012 Bonnie Cehovet