Thursday, 15 November 2012

Wordpress accepts Bitcoin

News just in - the worlds 22nd most accessed site in the world now accepts Bitcoin!  Why?  Because it allows access for bloggers from approx 60 countries that would not otherwise be able to use their services, due to the restrictive policies of Paypal and credit card companies.

Besides - Paypal is expensive!

As noted on the WordPress website, it is still not particularly easy to get hold of Bitcoins.  However one mechanism that you could use is Bitmit - basically 'ebay for Bitcoin'.  You can even sell cash for Bitcoins!  Alternatively, MtGox - the worlds biggest Bitcoin exchange - allows bank transfers from most major countries.  For business owners out there - they even have an app you can use to receive Bitcoins as payment..


Monday, 12 November 2012

Mind Mapping with MindMeister

Today I'm going to show you around my favourite mind mapping tool - MindMeister.

I first subscribed to MindMeister approx 2 years ago, when it was the first to deliver an Android mind-mapping capability.  They are still at the forefront of this industry, having just been selected by google as their preferred partner for delivering mind maps via Google Docs (sorry, google DRIVE!).



What should you look for in a mind mapping provider?
  •  Wide range of mind map formats (.mind, .mm, .mmap, .xmind)
  •  Web based functionality (so you can access your mind maps from any device)
  •  Android / iPhone compatibility 
  •  Ease of sign on (re-use your google account, openid or facebook login)
  •  Market leader (you don't want your provider to go bust and lose all your maps)
MindMeister ticks all these boxes!  Which is why I have a paid subscription, however this is only really necessary if you want more than 10 maps.  Up to 10 mind maps is FREE!  (You get three with the basic package, and can earn 7 more on referrals).

Here is a screenshot of my homepage:


And here is a (very basic) mind map.  This is actually a lot bigger, I have collapsed it to fit on the screen:



Basically, mind maps are BRILLIANT for quickly getting to grips with a concept or idea, allows you to create links to other nodes (or other mind maps), you can share and collaborate on mind maps (in REAL time!  see below)..  You can post links / images / files etc on each node.   Mind maps are awesome.




So how do you get started with mind maps?  Simples.  Click here!