MindMeister

MindMeister is an online mind mapping application that allows its users to visualize, share and present their thoughts via the cloud.^[1] MindMeister was launched in 2007 by MeisterLabs GmbH, a software company founded by Michael Hollauf and Till Vollmer.^[2] After 10 years in the market, MindMeister has more than 7 million users who created more than a billion ideas to date.^[3]

MindMeister

Developer(s)	MeisterLabs GmbH
Operating system	web, iOS, Android
Available in	12 languages
List of languages English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, Russian, Japanese, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Korean
Type	Web productivity tools
License	Freemium
Website	mindmeister.com

Overview

MindMeister provides a way to visualize information in mind maps utilizing user modeling, while also providing tools to facilitate real-time collaboration, coordinate task management and create presentations.^[4]

MindMeister is based on a freemium model, with a basic account available free of charge, providing limited functionality. The commercial model is built upon 4 different pricing levels with a choice of monthly or yearly subscription-charges. For use in the education sector,^[5] 3 different functional levels are available.

The aim of MindMeister is to enable individuals to collaborate^[6] on a mind map, where everyone can share ideas, comments and plans, as well as vote on ideas in real-time. MindMeister allows users to share and edit mind maps, leave comments and feedback, attach files, images, videos, and link to external, as well as internal sources, via embedded URLs. Mind maps can be shared with colleagues internally or externally via an email invitation to collaborate, or via a hyperlink. Mind maps can also be turned into interactive presentations.

Development

The idea behind MindMeister was first devised when the two founders, Michael Hollauf and Till Vollmer, were working together using Writely, which had been recently acquired by Google Docs,^[7] and the mind mapping tool MindManager. At the time, MindManager had to be installed locally, which made it hard to share mind maps externally or with anyone who had not installed the software. While using Google Docs and MindManager together, the idea was born to combine the two, forming a collaborative online mind mapping tool which could be easily shared and edited, via the cloud.

Milestones

• In 2006, MindMeister's first prototypes were created, in which mind maps were developed with 1x1 px DIVs.
• On February 7, 2007, MindMeister was released as a private beta.^[8] In the same year, MindMeister was awarded the Red Herring 100 Europe Award.^[9]
• In 2008, MindMeister 2.0 was released. In this release, the History View was added.^[10]
• In 2009, 5 additional languages were added and, with the advent of the iPhone, MindMeister for iOS was released.^[11]
• In 2010, MindMeister was added to the Google Apps Marketplace and the first native version for iPad was released.^[12]
• In 2011, MindMeister for Android was released and the presentation mode was integrated in the online version.
• In 2012, MindMeister integrated with Google Drive.
• In 2013, MindMeister Groups were introduced and MindMeister integrated with Google Hangouts.^[13]
• In 2014, the add-on for Google Docs were released and MindMeister became a Google Cloud Premier Partner. New features released include Comments and Votes, New Map Layouts and Video Support.
• In 2015, an integration to BiggerPlate was added as well as Geistesblitz for the AppleWatch.

See also

• List of collaborative software
• List of concept- and mind-mapping software
• Mind mapping
• Visual thinking

References

1. Gina Trapani (2008-07-14). "Boost Your Brainstorming Session with MindMeister". Lifehacker.com. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
2. "MindMeister App - Online Mind Mapping Software". AppAppeal. 2010-03-15. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
3. Hollauf, Michael (2 August 2017). "Founder". MeisterLabs Blog. MeisterLabs. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
4. Rhys Daunic (2013-08-04). "MindMeister: Collaborative Concept Mapping in the Cloud". The Media Spot.
5. Maria D. Avgerinou, Stefanos P. Gialamas (2016). Revolutionizing K-12 Blended Learning through the i²Flex Classroom Model. Information Science Reference, An Imprint of IGI Global. ISBN 9781522502685.
6. Nikos Karacapilidis, ed. (2014). Mastering Data-intensive Collaboration and Decision Making, Research and Practical Applications in the Dicode Project. Springer, science+business media. ISBN 9783319026121.
7. Dion Hinchcliffe (9 March 2006). "It's official: Google acquires Writely". ZDNet. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
8. Markus Spath (7 February 2007). "MindMeister launches private beta test". Retrieved 8 November 2017.
9. Michael Hollauf (5 May 2008). "MindMeister wins Red Herring 100 Europe Award". Retrieved 18 March 2018.
10. Dan Taylor (20 October 2008). "History View – Evolution of Ideas". Retrieved 18 March 2018.
11. cyberworker (2 September 2009). "MindMeister releases iPhone App for those eureka mind-mapping moments". Retrieved 18 March 2018.
12. Dan Taylor (10 March 2010). "MindMeister Available on the New Google Apps Marketplace". Retrieved 18 March 2018.
13. Richard (2013-08-29). "Mind Mapping in Google+ Hangouts". Focus. Retrieved 2023-01-27.

Further reading

• Abraham, A.; Hassanien, A.E. (2012). Computational Social Networks: Tools, Perspectives and Applications. Computational Social Networks. Springer London. pp. 430–431. ISBN 978-1-4471-4048-1. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
• Mauldin, S.K.C.; Kroski, E. (2015). Data Visualizations and Infographics. Library Technology Essentials. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-4422-4388-0. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
• Ricci, F.; Bontcheva, K.; Conlan, O.; Lawless, S. (2015). User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization: 23rd International Conference, UMAP 2015, Dublin, Ireland, June 29 -- July 3, 2015. Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer International Publishing. p. 5. ISBN 978-3-319-20267-9. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
• "MindMeister". Maximum PC. October 2007.
• Wolber, Andy (June 19, 2014). "Pro tip: Create mind maps with MindMeister". TechRepublic. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
• Pan, Joann (December 20, 2012). "Conduct Your Most Epic Brainstorm Sessions on MindMeister". Mashable. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
• Wauters, Robin (January 26, 2009). "Another iPhone App Sold: MindMaker Goes To MindMeister". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
• Eaton, Kit (23 April 2015). "Apps to Kindle the Imagination". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2018.

External links

• Official website