AceProject is a solid built cloud based project management software. It is a great tool for project managers and comes with many features such as Project Management, Document Management, Timesheet management, Expense Management and Email Collaboration.

For small business owners who don’t have the budget to buy an expensive project management software, AceProject will be handy because it is free for up to 5 users and 5 projects. You get to enjoy all the features and receive 250MB of free storage space. The thing that I love most is the ability to export and backup your database (most web-based project management software don’t allow you to do that). In other words, you own your data and won’t be at risk if the site fails or crashes.

User Interface

While AceProject comes with comprehensive feature, the UI is not really desirable. I have plenty of information throw on my face when I first login and I have totally no idea what to do next. I would appreciate a quick tutorial guiding me to create my first project and not a whole bunch of information (and most of them are useless for first time user) showing up at the dashboard. Nevertheless, if you are a seasoned user, the dashboard will be very useful, giving you a good overview of the project status.

Project Management

To create a new project, you have to click on the “Portfolio: All Projects” tab, follow by the “Add Project” link on the top right corner. For a new project, there are many information that you can attach to the project, such as priority, budget, start/completion date, tasks, contact details, project hours etc. You can also create a template for all future projects, which in my opinion, is a good implementation that can save time and effort.

Adding New user

A project management software is nothing if you can’t add new users to it. For a free AceProject account, you can add up to 4 users (including yourself, 5 in total). To add new users, go to the “Admin” tab and click on the “Add new user” link.

You can also create user group and add users to the group. One thing though, each user can only belong to one user group.

Timesheet Management

If you are a freelancer charging your client by the hour, the time clock feature will be useful to you. This is where you can start the clock when you are working on a project and stop when you have finished the work. You can then charge the client based on the hour accumulated.

To start the time clock, on “My Office” tab, go to “My Time Sheets -> My Time Clock” on the sidebar. You can then select the project and start the counting.

Similarly, you can do the same thing for the project tasks and expenses.

Reporting

As I mentioned above, you can view the project status from the dashboard, but if you want a more thorough report, you can also view them under each project. There are reports for your tasks, expenses, timesheet, or an overview statistics of the project.

Conclusion

For a web-based project management software, AceProject is impressive. It is comprehensive and comes with plenty of useful features that are handy for project management. The UI is not really very friendly for a new user, but once you get used to it, the navigation process will be a breeze.

Free Giveaway

AceProject is free for up to 5 users and 5 projects. If you need more, you have to upgrade to the premium version which range from $24 to $99 per month. We are glad to have 5 one year AceProject subscription ($240) to give away. Here is what you need to do:

This giveaway begins now and ends Wednesday, 15th June 2011 at 2359hrs Pacific Time. The winners will be selected at random and announced via email.

Share and enjoy!

Check out AceProject.

MakeTechEasier would like to thank AceProject for their generosity while participating in this giveaway. Interested in sponsoring? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us.

While the web has numerous such apps to offer, most of them require lengthy signup procedures and complicated sharing and collaboration options. Thankfully, “WriteBoard” is an exception to that rule.

Introduction

WriteBoard is a wonderful and, to my surprise, a free web service by 37signals. The service lets people take notes on virtual write-boards and share them with friends. Additionally the site lets you edit notes, supports bold and italics formatting, and exports your notes to TXT and HTML files. WriteBoard works flawlessly on Internet Explorer 7, Safari, Google Chrome, and Firefox.

Creating, Exporting, and Editing Notes

Unlike other collaborative note-taking web apps, WriteBoard lets you get down to business right on their homepage. In the very first step you can name your write-board, enter your email address, and set a password for the write-board.

After filling these details, you are taken to your virtual write-board where you can start noting down text.

The writing pane lets you type in simple text format. But by using the special formatting options present at the right of the writing pane you can add bold and italicized text.

Click on the “formatting guide” to see how you can add more special formatting such as indentations and bullets.

When you are done typing your note you can save it and have it published on a unique URL.

The “Export” button placed on top of your note let you export it to TXT or HTML files.

In case you want to modify your notes, simply click on the “Edit this page” button on top to reopen the writing interface. Once you make your changes decided whether to save the modified form as a new version or incorporate the changes in the existing version; make this decision by checking/unchecking the checkbox located at the bottom.

You can switch between different versions of your note using the links available in the right pane.

Sharing

You can start sharing your notes by using the share link in the top right of the webpage.

This will display an email invitation interface where you can type in your friends’ addresses. The link to the write-board along with its password will then be emailed to them.

Visiting the emailed URL will require them to type in the password before they are taken to the whiteboard.

Visitors to the whiteboard will be able to edit the notes just like you can, in addition to leaving comments. This facilitates collaboration.

Along with the friend’s name and time of comment, each comment shows which version the comment was left on.

Conclusion

WriteBoard is undoubtedly going to be a hit with everybody looking for a simple yet effective collaborative note-taking web app. The app is refreshingly different from its competition that often comes in complicated interfaces and accompanied by a price tag. Anybody looking for a note-taking web app needs to look no further.

You can visit WriteBoard by clicking here.

To prevent that inconvenient situation, online document collaboration tools were created. These web apps let you conveniently edit Word documents with your friends and contacts online. One such great collaboration tool is “Agile Words” – a brilliant collaboration tool specifically for Microsoft Word documents.

Introduction

Agile Words is collaboration application for Microsoft Word files. The app lets you upload Word documents and then invite friends via email to collaborate on those documents. You can edit the text of the document, leave comments, set review deadlines, and request approvals. The final product can then be downloaded as a Word file with the changes displayed using the “Track Changes” feature.

The original document is also preserved and can be downloaded anytime.

Loading a Word File to Edit and Comment on it

Agile Words offers a feature-rich yet user-friendly interface. Before using the site you should create an account with Agile Words and click on the activation link emailed to you. Next you upload a Word document or start with one of the sample documents already present in the site’s database.

Your document is read and displayed in the site’s own interface. The main document is displayed in the center pane while comments, options, and other tools are located at the top and side panes.

To edit a part of the text in the document you can right-click on it and select “Edit Content.”

This options lets you type in the replacement text. Edited portions are highlighted in yellow when you return to the document view.

The right-click menu can also be used to leave comments. An easier approach is to simply double-click a word or line; this automatically pops up the comments box. Comments are visible as boxes on the right or left of the document.

There is also a comments pane which is located on the full-right. This pane helps view who left the comments without actually browsing over to where the comments were left.

A different view lets you see which pages got comments and edits.

This view also lets you quickly jump to a certain page with going through the pages in between.

Collaboration

Invitation to friends can be sent using the “Invite” button on top.

Friends can be invited to edit the document via their email address. While sending out the invitations to each friend, you can specify whether they will have the privileges of an author or only a reviewer. A default message is included to be sent with the invitation; you can edit the message to suit your liking.

Downloading

After all the collaboration steps have been performed and you feel the document is complete, you can download it using the options located in the top left.

The site lets you download the original document and the latest modified version.

You can quickly access other uploaded Word using your Agile Word Dashboard that keeps a track of the documents you are collaborating on.

Pricing

Currently using the website is absolutely free. But it is mentioned that payment plans are going to be introduced soon. These will only be according to the authors on a document with free support for unlimited reviewers. The basic payment plans will begin from $24 per month.

Conclusion

The features offered by Agile Words are a great convenience to all who work on a Word file as a group. Whether you are the lead author of a research paper or the manager of a proposal, this web app will serve your needs excellently.

Visit “Agile Words” @ http://www.agilewords.com/

Once you have created and logged in to your account, you will be prompted to create spaces. Each space is an area dedicated to a group of collaborators. You can create different spaces, each with different purposes. For example, in MakeTechEasier, I can create a space for authors to collaborate on topic ideas and another space for editors.

Just like any other collaboration platform, you will find email, contacts, calendars and tasks in every space. There is also a Twitter-like activity steam where members can post status update.

The most impressive feature of Podio is the app store. Here is where you can find plenty of apps to add to your account to increase its functionality. All of the apps are free and they covered categories from business development, project management, education, Sales and CRM, to Internet, Property and Retail Sales. I didn’t count the number of apps, but it seems to be an endless list and you could just keep scrolling to the next page and next page and next…

If that is not good enough for you, you can even modify the app to suit your liking. Feel that the team blog app is lacking a Google Map field? You can add a field to it. Feel that the Sales app is too complicated to use? Remove some of the fields to make it easier to handle.

The best thing is, if none of the apps can satisfy your needs, you can even build your own app. There is no programming knowledge required. As long as you know how to drag and drop, you can instantly build your own app.

Without a doubt, what really set Podio apart from the rest is definitely the app store and the app builder. Just like Apple’s iPhone. Without the app store, it is just a plain phone with a great design. But with the app store and hundreds of thousands of apps, it becomes a device with infinite possibilities. Similarly, the ability to create and add apps to the Podio platform makes it more than just a simple collaboration platform, and everyone can customize it to suit your own needs.

Podio is currently in closed beta and it requires an invite to get in. It will open its door to the public on 24th March 2011 (9 days as of this post) and you will be able to get your hands on it. The platform is free for company with less than 10 users. Those with more than 10 users will pay at a per-user basis.

Did I also mention that Podio also has an iPhone app? Check it out now.

Podio

“ShowDocument” is that super-collaboration website.

Introduction

ShowDocument is a user-friendly website that lets you freely collaborate with online friends using numerous web applications. The collaboration apps provided by the site include a document creator plus editor, a video conference tool, a live chat room with translation features, an online whiteboard, a tool to watch YouTube videos together with your friends, and many more.

Usage

Before you can start using ShowDocument, you will need to sign up for an account. With it activated, use your account information to login to the website. You will find a big orange “Start a Session” button.

Clicking on this button will display a new window with the available applications that let you collaborate.

A wide array of collaboration apps are available for use. In addition to the abovementioned apps, these apps include sharing a computer file, sharing the feed from your webcam, sharing your monitor’s output, jointly using a units converter, jointly browsing websites, and playing Set or Tick-Tack-Toe with online friends.

In this review, we will be covering the YouTube application. You can easily try out the other apps and use the sharing procedures outlined below – they apply to all ShowDocument apps.

The ShowDocument YouTube Application

To open the YouTube application you simply click on the corresponding icon. A application tab will be opened in the same window. All the opened apps are viewable via tabs on the top. With the YouTube, you get links and thumbnails to popular YouTube automatically displayed. You also search for YouTube videos and enter the URL of the video if you already have it.

The selected video is played across all participants’ windows at the same time so you all view the YouTube video together. While you view the video, you can draw on it using the pencil tool; the drawings are shown across all participants’ screens.

In the left-most pane of the application window you will find a chat window where participants can talk to one another.

Inviting Participants to Your ShowDocument Application

Under the participants list in the chat window you will find a button labeled “Invite New Participants.”

Clicking on this button opens up a window that displays the URL to the ShowDocument application you are using.

In addition to the sharing the URL, you can send email invitation or copy share the numeric code; friends can type in the code at ShowDocument’s homepage and reach your app’s page. Before joining the application, friends specify a nickname for themselves. That is all they need i.e. they do not need to register for a new account on the site in order to start collaborating with you.

Pricing

ShowDocument’s free account offers collaboration sessions that are only 30 minutes long. You get only 10MB of storage and each app can have up to 3 participants with the audio and video disabled in chat. These restrictions are lifted if you go for the paid option; the paid account costs $30 per month. Before going for the paid account you can test it for free for 30 days.

Conclusion

ShowDocument is definitely an amazing website. It is perhaps the only website that merges so many collaboration web apps and provides them under a single dashboard. The features offered by the free account are sufficient to benefit most computer users.

You can visit ShowDocument by clicking here.

When collaborating with multiple people geographically spread out, things like a digital whiteboard, file sharing, and training can be very difficult. ShowDocument is a creative way to address this problem.

What ShowDocument can do for you

The main feature that separates ShowDocument from others like Yuuguu is the digital whiteboard. Being able to have everyone collaborate on one screen is a huge help. Many businesses struggle with collaboration day in and day out.

Meeting room

Each registered account will have a dedicated meeting room. I know it sounds a little fancier than you may need. Think of it like your own personal chat room. People can come and go as needed, but will all congregate in one spot.

The number you are given for the meeting room is also your invite code for people who are attending the meetings.

Markup live web pages

The Shared Browser feature is pretty neat. If you are designing a web site for a client who isn’t local, ShowDocument lets you upload a document saved as a URL. This lets everyone mark up the page to add or eliminate aspects of the page the next round of approvals.

Markup Google Maps

At first when I saw this feature, I wondered how this would be helpful for a freelancer or small business owner.

My first thought is if you are planning an outdoor event. You can use the map to have an aerial view of the venue. You can mark where stands will go, entrance and exits, stages…

The second idea would be to plot a new location if you wanted to move or expand your business. Being able to see where major roads and other businesses are in relation to where you want to move.

Online document sharing

If you have everyone in one place for the meeting, it stands to reason that you would want to be able to have everyone access the documents you are talking about. Sure you can display it for everyone to see, but there is probably a need for everyone to have a copy for later reference.

You can upload 10 documents to be stored on the server if you are a registered user. This isnt a lot, but if you remove them after the meeting is over, you should be fine.

Why register

The majority of the features are free to use. However, if you register there are a few perks. All of them will make the digital meeting process a bit better.

• Longer sessions
• Uploading documents
• Dedicated meeting rooms

If you plan on holding more than a couple short meetings, it is a good idea to sign up for a free account. In addition to the features above, chat, collaborating on text files, marking up Youtube videos, screen sharing and a lot more make ShowDocument worth trying out.

What are your tips for collaborating with people abroad?

Image credit: Stephen Cummings

Another great feature of Google Docs is the collaboration feature which allows you to invite multiple people to view or edit your documents. If you have a team or a small group of people and want to collaborate on a document, presentation – Google Docs is the easiest and most versatile tool to choose from.

But not many people know that Google Docs makes it very easy to create and collaborate on a drawing or diagram. This has several advantages:

1. You can invite a group of people to view your drawings and share ideas which can not be represented on a word document or a PowerPoint presentation.

2. You can collaborate with multiple people and create flow charts or network diagrams, this is again very useful when you want to decide the work order of your next project, the roles of different team members and so on.

In this article we will learn how you can create a drawing or graphical representation using Google Docs and collaborate with multiple people on the same drawing.

The Basics of Google Drawings

To use the drawing feature in Google Docs, go to docs.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Next, click the “Create New” dropdown menu and choose “Create a Drawing” as shown below:

This will open a blank canvas page in a new browser tab where you can start adding objects, text items and create the drawing as you want. Here is how the canvas page looks:

Using Templates: In case you want to use ready made templates for your drawing, you can choose the option “Create from Template”.

The Google Docs template gallery contains a wide range of user submitted templates, so it would be better to search for a template and see whether a design matches with your requirements.

There are a whole bunch of templates out there – from UML diagrams to flow charts, from Network diagrams to sequences. If you are unable to find a suitable template for your drawing, create one from scratch.

In the canvas page – you will see a small toolbar with different buttons. The toolbar consists of the following main buttons:

• The Select tool:  Allows you to select an item e.g image or shape.
• The Text Box tool: Allows you to add textual content to your drawing.
• The Zoom tool: Allows you to zoom within the canvas.
• The line tool: Allows you to create a simple line.

To use a tool,simply click the corresponding button from the toolbar and add the items to the drawing canvas. There are other buttons too, their usage is discussed in the following section.

Add Different Shapes in Your Google Docs Drawing

To add different shapes in your drawing, click the “Insert” button from the menu and hover your mouse cursor on the last option called “Shape”. You will now see more options ( just like Microsoft Word) – just select a shape and drag the cursor in the canvas to insert the shape in your drawing.

Once the shape is in place, you can select it using the select tool and resize it by dragging the cursor at any corner of the shape. As soon as you select the shape, you will notice new buttons on the toolbar, namely Fill color, Border Color, Border width and so on. You can use these buttons to customize the shape the way you want.

Add Images and Elements in Your Google Docs Drawing

To add an image in your drawing, click the small image icon and then choose the location of the image file. Here you have three options:

• Choose an image from your computer.
• Choose an image from a public URL.
• Choose an image from Google image search.

Similarly, you can select other options in the insert menu to add different elements in your drawing. This includes adding rectangles, polygons, arcs, curve or an arrow.

Invite Other people to View or Collaborate on Your Drawing

This is the most interesting part. When you want multiple people to edit the same drawing, click the “Share” button at the right top of the browser window and select “Email editors”.

Then enter the email address of the person in the next window and you are done. The editor will then be able to edit the drawing in the same way as you edit, both the people would be able to communicate through a chat window and share ideas, while adding elements to the drawing.

You can also use the other options to either Email the drawing as an attachment or publish it to the web for public viewing.

Finally – Download or Print the Drawing

When the drawing is complete, click File and select the “Download As” option to download the drawing in your computer. The available formats are JPEG, PNG, SVG and PDF.

You can also print a copy of the drawing on paper using the “print” option as shown above.

All in all, Google Docs Drawings is a really fun and useful tool to tinker with. It’s a great way to share ideas which can’t be penned on paper. College students and project members can use it for laying out ideas, determining a flow chart, planning, graphical representation and  so on.

Have you ever used a collaborative drawing tool? What do you recommend? Let’s hear your ideas in the comments.

Office Medium is a web-based collaborative suite and office intranet built with the open source Drupal. It is easy to use and comes with several useful features (especially in the social aspect) that the small business users will come to appreciate.

I were introduced to OfficeMedium a while back and my first impression is that it is well designed with plenty of useful collaborative and social features.

When you first logged in, you will be greeted by the dashboard. This is where you can get an overview of what happening in your business social area.

The interior of OfficeMedium is organized into several sections, namely Tasks, Events, Calendar, Contacts, Resouces, Files, Polls, Shoutbox and Blog. Each section plays an important role.

Tasks allows you to create to do lists and track the progress of your work. Events shows all your upcoming events and the Calendar allows you to schedule appointments and add events. There is also a group calendar where you can view your colleague’s schedule. The Resources, Files and Polls sections are some of the useful collaborative tools while the Shoutbox enables you to update your status so your colleagues/clients know what you are busy with.

Client management

The best part about OfficeMedium is the integration of client management into the software. You can create a limited user account for your clients and allows them to participate in the collaboration/discussion process. The limited user account give the client permission to view/submit tasks, events, and files, and are only allowed to see content and data that is meant for, or created by them. It is more like Google wave, but with more flexibility and usability.

One caveat – Not able to backup data

While OfficeMedium provides a great platform for the end user, there is one thing that I am concern of – the inability to back up your data. Unlike your self-hosted intranet where you can keep everything in your control, Office Medium does not provide any way for you to backup all your data (Perhaps it does, but I can’t find any backup option in the interface). That means, if one day they were to close down, all your data will go down with them. If you keep plenty of confidential data online, this is definitely a cause for concern.

Office Medium is currently priced at $6 per user and comes with a free 512MB account. Extra space can be purchased at $1 per Gb per month. New users get a 1 month free usage before they are required to pay the subscription fee.

Promotion for Make Tech Easier readers

Office Medium allows anyone to use the software free for 30 days before you are required to make any payment. Now, for MakeTechEasier readers, as long as you email ‘MAKETECHEASIER‘ to support@officemedium.com within 24 hours of this post, you will get 60 days of free usage. Don’t wait, GET IT NOW!

This is where imo.im can help. Imo.im is a web based instant messaging application that lets you log into all of the major IM services including Skype and Facebook. Having access to some of these apps in an all-in-one web app is a damn good idea; I’m surprised these kind of web based apps aren’t more popular.

There are three ways to use this service:

1. Browser

If you are constantly at your computer with your browser open, you can opt to use imo.im from the site. It has no OS dependencies because it is web based. As long as you can access the web, you can IM until your heart is content.

2. Pop-out

If you prefer to, there is an option to IM via a pop out window. This option will still require you to have your browser open. Also, make sure the your pop up blocker lets it “pop out”.

3. Desktop App

The third option is a downloadable desktop application for Windows computers. Aside from not needing to have a browser running, there is no difference between the web and desktop version. Even though it is a downloaded application, it is pretty much just like the browser pop out.

Video

Depending on the IM service you choose to log into, you can access some of the features usually associated with their individual desktop application. For example, with Yahoo IM there is an option for video chat when I use the desktop app on my Mac. If I am using Adium, I lose this option. By logging onto the imo.im site, I  regain the use of video. If you are on a computer equipped with a webcam, you can use the video chat feature offered by some IM services. If you are out running errands and remember you have a 2:30 Skype video conference, you could pop into a Best Buy and use one of the demo computers. It would be really unprofessional of you, but you could do it if you had to.

Audio

The same is true with voice chat. Like webcams, most computers have a microphone of some kind or at the very least, an option to plug one in. If you are doing other things on the web and simply don’t want to type, you can utilize imo.im to speak your mind via services like Skype hands free.

Signing In

To make your signing in easier, imo.im lets you link the accounts you use the most together for ease of logging in. All this really does is allow one click sign in for all of the accounts you have linked.

Other Goodies – Picture Sharing

Imo.im has a photo sharing program. To share, simply email the photo to photos@imo.im from the email address you registered; that’s it. You have 2GB of space to store your photographic masterpieces.

Whiteboard

The whiteboard is a basic collaboration tool. It is almost like a collaborative Microsoft Paint. You can type, use the pre-made shapes and even doodle or write in the open area. I could see this being handy for an impromptu brainstorming session.

Overall, the basics of this web based service are pretty similar to many of the desktop apps available Adium, Trillium and Digsby. The biggest difference over the desktop counterparts is being able to access it from any computer with an internet connection. Great if you are traveling sans laptop and have to use the hotel lobby computer in a pinch.

What other web based IM services are available?

1. Co-Authors Plus

Co-Authors Plus allows a blogging team to assign a blog post (or even a page) to more than one author. It has a search-as-you-type input box that makes it easier to find the authors. This is a great tool because you do not have to know how to write their full name. After installing the plugin, you use template tags to allow the listing of the multiple authors. These are the allowed template tags:

• coauthors()
• coauthors_posts_links()
• coauthors_firstnames()
• coauthors_lastnames()
• coauthors_nicknames()
• coauthors_links()
• coauthors_IDs()

These posts will appear on the authors’ posts and feeds. It’s great because it provides blogging teams with many authors to have an easier way to find the desired authors. However, it’s a little difficult for people who do not know how to code.

To find out more information or download the Co-Authors Plus plugin, please visit: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/co-authors-plus/

2. WT Co-Authors

WT Co-Authors allows multiple authors in a different way than the previous plugin. It uses WordPress custom fields to show more than one authors. The custom name field to use is “coauthor.” The value will be the user’s name. There is no maximum in the amount of authors used. You have to ensure that the WordPress theme that you are using has “the_author()” function. If it doesn’t, you will have to manually add

if(function_exists(wt_the_coauthors_link)):
wt_the_coauthors_link();
endif;

It’s an easier way to show collaboration; however, it does not fully use the WordPress role functionality, so Administrators and/or Editors can assign Authors to one blog post.

To find out more information or download the WT Co-Authors plugin, please visit: http://anime2.kokidokom.net/all-team-blogs-attention-the-ultimate-mega-super-awesome-co-authors-plugin-is-here/

3. SP Authors

SP Authors provides a simple way of allowing multiple authors to be assigned to a blog post (or a page). After installing the plugin, you will se a new area that provides a way to manually enter the author’s name. It also has a drop-down menu of all the authors, if you are not sure how to spell their names. Another great feature is if you place the short code [sp-authors], you are able to show a list of the particular’s authors links of other blog posts that he/she has written.

SP Authors is the simplest plugin to use to collaborate among multiple authors in a single blog post. However, the drop-down menu might be overwhelming if you have many authors.

To find out more information or download the SP Authors plugin, please visit: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/sp-authors/

If you have a blogging team, one of these plugins will really give you the flexibility of allowing multiple authors to colloborate on a single blog posts. This is especially useful in a complex post that allows you to assign different sections to various authors.

Mindmeister is an elegant and easy to use web application that allows you to create mindmaps easily and quickly. In this article I am going to demonstrate how to use Mindmeister to create Mindmaps and share with your friends and colleagues.

1. Go to Mindmeister.com and sign up for a free account. You can skip this step if you have an OpenID account. Alternatively, if you just want to try out the software, there is a live demo on the front page where you can get a hands on experience.

2. Login to Mindmeister and click on “Create Mind map” button

3. You will now see the root node at the center of the screen. Before creating the mindmap it will be nice to get comfortable with the navigation structure in Mindmeister.

The toolbar at the top contains the buttons for you to add, delete and connect nodes. On the right side lies the navigator, text editor and icons where you can use them to enhance the overall look and feel. At the bottom is the Share button that allows you to share and collaborate your work.

4. Once you are comfortable with the menus, it becomes very easy to create a mindmap. First, click on the root node and edit the text to reflect your brainstorm topic/idea. Next, click on the Add button on the top toolbar to add new node. At the end of this step you should get something as shown below:

5. Keep on adding the nodes to complete the mindmap and if necessary, add icons to make the node more distinguishable or add links if needed. At the end of this step, your mindmap should be almost completed.

6. Once the mindmap is completed, click on the Share button to share and collaborate with your friends and colleagues. You can also make it public or embed it in your site.

Conclusion

Not only is it easy to use, Mindmeister is also a feature rich web application that allows you to create mindmaps and share with your friends easily. Some of the other useful features include making a clone copy of your existing mindmap or export your mindmaps as images or PDF files.

The free edition of Mindmeister allows you to create up to 6 mindmaps. There are also various paid editons for heavy users.