Bubbl.us?

Tonight I'm trying to figure out some workshop exercises to help thinkers get out of their ruts.  Sometimes using visualization - forcing people into the creative side of their brain - results in the flow of new ideas.

So, using my past employer, The Nature Conservancy, as a model, I hand drew a "community" of people and organizations who care about preserving the ecosystem.  It included cute little cartoonish hunters, hikers, teachers, etc.

My work of art really wasn't that skillfully drawn.  First, I don't have time for that tonight.  Second, I didn't want to scare my attendees away from the project by giving them something to live up to.  But, from my years of experience teaching art, I realized that even my goofy cartoons were going to intimidate some folks.  So, I went off in search of a mapping tool that would quickly let me draw boxes to label, instead of the actual characters.

I found bubbl.us, a free mapping tool.  It's fun.  The address is www.bubbl.us.  Here's the map I made for my workshop.  If I'd had more time tonight, I would have monkeyed with shapes and colors.



Very cool! Try it. It's free.