I want to make an information map
October 12, 2022 1:46 PM

Can anyone recommend a type of mind mapping software for Mac or iOS that will fit MY particular needs?

For the last few weeks I've been doing a personal study project on a certain topic (too hard to explain and not really necessary to answer the question) that I'm finding is producing a lot of interesting and unexpected links between the things I'm finding out.

I started doing it by basically just surfing the web and copy pasting any interesting paragraphs into a text file. Then I was wondering if I could do it in a more visual way to really show the links I'm finding.

I'm using MindNode on my iPhone right now but I'm finding that it expects a very orderly branching structure from the beginning, whereas I'm putting the information in first and making the connections second. I could probably make MindNode work if that was all that existing, but maybe there's something better. I just don't know how to find it.

My ideal workflow would be like this:
- I do my regular web surfing and I see an interesting paragraph
- I paste it into this program as like a "card" or a "bubble" or a "thing"
- I draw a line between the "thing" I just made and any other existing things that I think it can be linked to.
- I wind up with something that looks like a map where the addition of the lines between things helps the reader see things they never noticed before

Ideally, it would also produce something that I could post on my website, as I am always in need of fresh content for the content mill. Otherwise I'd just use a big piece of paper or something.

What do you think?
posted by bleep to Computers & Internet (4 answers total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
Yes, Scapple on MacOS is perfect for this. You can put in the text, and connect or not connect as you please. It has some basic formatting options, which aren't amazingly beautiful but work well.
posted by past unusual at 1:59 PM on October 12, 2022


I've started using Obsidian out of a desire to go what you're talking about (plus a lot more). Here's a recent AskMe I posted on the topic.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:25 PM on October 12, 2022


These are great but is there something in between - Obsidian's ability to have a headline/note content + Scapple's "Graph first" mentality rather than Obsidian's "Note first" mentality?
posted by bleep at 6:30 PM on October 12, 2022


I use Mural for this. You can paste in text, images, or URLs and connect them later. Miro is a similar product that some of my colleagues like too.
posted by kiripin at 9:37 AM on October 13, 2022


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