Working with MindMeister

Oct 2, 2009 by Dan Taylor    13 Comments    Posted under: News, Technology

Sadly, things like a personal blog take a bit of a back seat when you’ve got a ton of stuff going on.  Such is the case here, as the past two weeks have been filled with meetings, discussions, and new collaborations.  While I can’t go into all of the details of everything that I’m working on right now (pesky NDA’s and such), I’m happy to announce that I’m now working with a Vienna, Austria/Feldkirchen, Germany based SaaS, MindMeister.com.  I’ll be working on marketing and promotion projects with them, and am truly excited about this software.

A bit about MindMeister

MindMeister brings the concept of mind mapping to the web, using its facilities for real-time collaboration to allow truly global brainstorming sessions. Users can create, manage and share mind maps online and access them anytime, from anywhere. In brainstorming mode, fellow MindMeisters from around the world (or just in different rooms) can simultaneously work on the same mind map and see each other’s changes as they happen.

That’s the official website copy (not written by me), and it does a good job of explaining what MindMeister is and does, but to put it bluntly – this thing is one of the greatest organizational tools I’ve ever seen.  Think about your traditional whiteboard – the board that everyone chalks their ideas up on, and where current ideas get expanded, and new ones are created.  Once that whiteboard is filled, chances are the best of the best get carried over to the next iteration.  What if you could store every change that was made to this whiteboard?  Forever?  Enter MindMeister.  There’s a whole bit about the history feature that I could get into, but all I’ll say at this point is….stay tuned.

Ok, so we’ve got ideas saved for perpetuity.  Great.  The problem with the whiteboard is not only that it has limited space, but it’s also physically stationary.  Chances are, your corporate whiteboard isn’t making any international voyages anytime soon.  Through the power of the internet, MindMeister takes the traditional whiteboard and makes it global.  Project managers in Toyko can interact, share, and collaborate on ideas with their counterparts in San Francisco, Sao Paolo, and Sydney, all in real time (provided there’s enough coffee to span those time zones).  And for those that just couldn’t keep their eyelids open, mindmaps can be saved, emailed, embedded, exported…you name it, chances are the folks at MindMeister make an option for you to share it.

Free accounts are offered, but have limited functionality.  Think of it as a try before you buy.  The free version will give you a taste of the complete package, but is akin to driving a V6 with only 4 cylinders firing.  Good, but not the full experience.  I could go on and on about this fantastic software, but why take it from me?  Head on over to MindMeister and get your own map going

Is Apple working on a PayPal killer?

Aug 5, 2009 by Dan Taylor    10 Comments    Posted under: News, Technology

Just about everywhere you go these days, someone’s trying to make it easier for you to pay. Obviously, the driving force behind this is to ultimately make the sale by facilitating the consumers option to pay. And while the internet has seen it’s fair share, some successful, others not, of ways to pay, there is a constant stream of improvements to the method making their way to market everyday. But let’s face it, when it comes down to paying for something via the internet, without a direct credit card charge, my guesstimate would be that 85% of the average internet surfing/shopping consumer could name only one: PayPal.

We already know for certain that facebook has been playing with microtransactions and multiple payment platforms and options via their “Pay with Facebook” system, but as of now, we’ve got nothing but confirmations that something is being worked on. All that might come to a grinding halt if Wall Street gossips have any validity behind them. Silicon Alley Insider is reporting that said gossiper(s) may have had one too many drinks at a lower Manhattan establishment recently, and mentioned that Apple execs have dropped hints suggesting that the primarily hardware focused company is considering creating a service that would allow iTunes users (store account holders, with a valid credit card on file, or course) to use those accounts to pay for things outside the iTunes realm.

Remember, with the introduction of the iPhone OS 3.0, users are now able to spend freely on virtual and subscription goods within third party iPhone applications. In other words, the vast majority of the technology is already there, it’s just a question of opening this tech up to interface with external third-party platforms.

Now again, traditionally Apple has worked on projects that will solely drive hardware sales. iTunes certainly drove/drives iPod and iPhone sales, so why the interest in what basically boils down to a SaaS? Once you’re at the top of the pile, it’s tough to stay there. There are plenty of upcomers, as you once were, that are hungry and eager for your spot. Perhaps Apple is looking at a payment platform as a natural extension of their already easy to use iTunes Store functionality. One could make the argument that via iTunes, Apple effectively brought the microtransaction payment mechanism to the masses via iTunes, so why limit the functionality just to music? Apple has already branched out into providing video, either for rent or purchase, and again, with the OS 3.0 introduction, provided a way for application developers to monetize through in-game microtransactions.

While this is mere speculation and gossip at this point, a three way battle between eBay (parent company to PayPal), Facebook, and Apple would most certainly up the ante for all parties involved. Competition is a time tested catalyst for innovation, and any way you look at this battle, the ultimate winner is both the consumer and the vendor. Let’s see what Cupertino’s got in store (ouch…no pun intended) for us next.