MindMeister is an online

mind mapping A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated r ...

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

Overview

MindMeister provides a way to visualize information in

mind map A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated r ...

s utilizing user modeling, while also providing tools to facilitate real-time collaboration, coordinate task management and create presentations. 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, 3 different functional levels are available. The aim of MindMeister is to enable individuals to collaborate 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 Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

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 Google Docs is an online word processor included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google, which also includes: Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Forms, Google Sites and Google Keep. Google ...

, which had been recently acquired by Google Docs, 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 In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

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. In the same year, MindMeister was awarded the Red Herring 100 Europe Award. * In 2008, MindMeister 2.0 was released. In this release, the History View was added. * In 2009, 5 additional languages were added and, with the advent of the iPhone, MindMeister for iOS was released. * In 2010, MindMeister was added to the Google Apps Marketplace and the first native version for

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...

was released. * In 2011
MindMeister for Android
was released and th
presentation mode
was integrated in the online version. * In 2012, MindMeister integrated with

Google Drive Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google. Launched on April 24, 2012, Google Drive allows users to store files in the cloud (on Google's servers), synchronize files across devices, and share files. In add ...

. * In 2013, MindMeister Groups were introduced and MindMeister integrated with

Google Hangouts Google Hangouts is a discontinued cross-platform instant messaging service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+, becoming a standalone product in 2013, when Google also began integrating features from Google+ Messenger a ...

. * 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mindmeister Knowledge representation software Mind-mapping software Collaborative software Concept mapping software Argument mapping Visual thinking

Overview

Development

Milestones

See also

References

Further reading

External links