Mind Mapping: Finding the Rainbow Connection

This post contains a MindMap summarizing takeaways from Social Media Chat from October 28, 2009.

In the song, “The Rainbow Connection,” Kermit the Frog refers to “the lovers, the dreamers, and me”. I think many of us empathize with the “me” the someplace-in-the-middle.

There’s often talk about opposites in personality and thinking; the “left-brained” (analytic) or “right brained” (creative) types, the linear or holistic types, generalizers or detail-oriented types, or even broader generalizations of people being “thinkers or doers”.  While one style or approach may dominate in each of us, there are tools and methods of exploring idea development and management that can be used by anyone.

Mind mapping, as created by Tony Buzan, is a visual tool using association through lines and proximity as the primary method of displaying relationships between ideas, concepts, objects or processes, radiating out from a centrally-located focal point.

The mind map, and variations on mind mapping (concept maps and collective brainstorming) can be a great tool to generate ideas, bridge the gaps while exploring processes, and make connections appear through “wise wanderings”. If you are willing to allow your mind to associate freely, you can make a mind map.

There is a great deal of software available to create mind maps, from educational packages through online freeware and collaborative tools, but for this example I went the route of paper, color markers and a Flair pen. I like to work this way because it’s quick and easy, particularly in adding quick doodles if an image or visual metaphor comes to mind from the conversation. If you think you can’t draw, you can do the same without adding any pictures but using colored pens to add highlights, make boxes around key points, or adding arrows to show where one thing leads to another.

Here’s my first mind map of the Twitter #SMCHAT from October 28, 2009, where the group discussed “Demystifying Mind Mapping“, hosted by Chris Jones (@sourcePOV) and mind-mapping expert Chuck Frey (@chuckfrey). For the original framing of the Q25 discussion, please read Chris Jones’ original post on mindmapping 101 or http://smchat.ning.com/forum/topics/q25-mind-maps-101 .

While participating and then rereading the transcript, four themes emerged to me: Theory, Practice, Tools and Methods. I placed  Theory on top, floating ideas and concepts (the abstract or ethereal), and Practice below (with concrete, “down to earth” examples of other forms of mind mapping, using real objects). Methods and Tools seem to straddle both theory and practice, so they sit on an invisible horizon line. This divides the map into a Top/Bottom configuration, or Head and Body.

I also used more of a personal visual shorthand to move quickly, eliminating the branching lines that associate ideas while counting on proximity to define the relationship between the short phrases, doodles and symbols.

In this first version, I used the Twitter identities of chat participants to create top and bottom borders. If you were there and I didn’t list you, please know that I added the names somewhat chronologically as people entered the conversation and I let space constraints determine who was listed.

Refining the map

One question that I’ve heard raised about mind maps (and infographics in general) is whether or not they are clear, useful and convey real information to those who didn’t create the image. In many cases, yes, a mind map can easily be as clear as an outline or summary using just words; in the best cases, the addition information gleaned from visual data (including pictures, symbols, color, placement and size) can generate a completely fresh instance of ideas, add additional content with fewer words, or place emphasis, impact and  flow to direct the reader through the map.

I created a second map to make the navigation easier and to prompt additional discussion:

#SMCHAT - Mindmapping 101

The four large branches titles are enlarged and emphasized, but I’ve filtered the content in each branch. It is a selective filter, certainly, but the point of creating this map was not only to summarize the previous discussion but to stimulate a second conversation. Chuck Frey remarked, “being able to see info represented visually helps you see “white space” opportunities – between existing ideas.” I hope you can find these through this map, and they become rainbow connections for you.

With that in mind, please join us for the next #SMCHAT  on Twitter on December 9, 2009 at 1pET : Q25R Mind Maps, the Remix. I will be moderating the chat and I hope to see you there.