I have been using a variety of different mind mapping applications over the past few years and have started using the MindMeister program with great success. It's simple to use and produces great results and integrates into Facebook, Twitter and Google. MindMeister has been built from the ground up to facilitate collaboration. You can share any creation easily by inviting users by email, or simply send them a unique and secure direct link.

Once shared, you can start a thinking session and collaborate on any mind map in real-time. Color-coded effects will highlight changes by other users within seconds, and the integrated live chat will let you exchange thoughts with your peers directly. In MindMeister, the change history of a mind map is stored forever on their servers. You can infinitely undo all changes; revert to any particular prior revision and even playback the entire evolution of your mind map using their patented History View.

 Never again will you lose any changes that have been overwritten by others, or need to rack your brain how you came to a specific conclusion. Just play it back and see the thought process! Users of an iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or Android device can access their mind maps from wherever they are, using our native mobile applications . When using the browser interface of MindMeister, you don't even need an Internet connection, provided you've enabled the Offline Mode. Mind maps are stored securely online, all you need is a standard web browser. All collaborators access the same version, eliminating the danger of conflicting versions. They've built MindMeister with a strong focus on intuitiveness and ease of use, removing all unnecessary clutter so that you can concentrate on the creative process. We've won multiple awards for our user interface, so try it out and let us know what you think! We also adhere to highest security standards with strong data encryption, tier-III hosting and 24/7 monitoring.

Your business revolves around producing creative works, and you use the Internet to market those works. Considering how quickly and easily such material can be disseminated around the world without your knowledge or permission, how do you go about protecting your rights to those works? A Creative Commons license might be the most realistic solution.

Creative Commons licenses protect your works in a manner that helps you reach a much larger audience much faster than you would under the conventional “all rights reserved” approach.

Here's a brief overview of how Creative Commons works, and how it differs from traditional copyright.

What Is Creative Commons Licensing?

It's a common misconception that the philosophy of Creative Commons licensing is somehow opposed to copyright; in reality, Creative Commons depends on that precedent as its starting point.

“Creative Commons licenses provide an easy way to manage the copyright terms that attach automatically to all creative works under copyright,” explains the Creative Commons organizationthat created them. “Our licenses allow those works to be shared and re-used under terms that are flexible and legally sound.”

Each Creative Commons license, then, allows the content owner to relax control over very narrowly specified parts of the traditional “all rights reserved” copyright so as to promote certain types of sharing.

Put another way, every content owner gets full copyright ownership over his or her work, no matter what. Owners who elect to use a Creative Commons license, such as the British record label Records on Ribs, opt to loosen a very specific subset of those copyright restrictions so as to encourage the use and sharing of their work.

Why Would You Use Creative Commons Licensing?

Traditional copyright “worked very well in the analog world, because in order to disseminate material you had to go through a third party” such as a publisher, Creative Commons communications manager Jane Park told me recently.

In today's Internet-powered world, however, “anyone can publish a Web page, upload a video, et cetera,” Park points out.

That, in turn, requires more flexibility so that content owners have a way to balance protections for their work while enabling it to be shared.

Say you're an independent musician. You likely want as many people as possible to hear your songs; but without a major record label to promote your recordings through the traditional channels (and sucking up all the profits in return), you might choose a Creative Commons license that allows you to give away some of your music for free, while reserving the right to sell your music commercially. You might even want to allow other musicians to produce remixes, as long as they credit your contribution.

Creative Commons licensing also helps end users understand exactly what they can and can't do with your work, thus resolving a major point of confusion. In fact, most users tend to fall into one of two camps, Park says: They're either afraid to do anything at all with your work, or they do what they want with it but assume that they're breaking the law.

“Creative Commons licensing makes it really clear to your audience,” she explains.

Then, too, there's the fact that Creative Commons licenses are ready-made and more or less free.

“Before, you would have had to engage an attorney and have them craft a license for you,” says Anderson Duff, an associate at Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks.

Now--assuming there's a license to fit your needs--you can avoid that expense.

The Basics of Creative Commons Licenses

Though multiple Creative Commons licenses are available, they all share several key features. Each helps creators retain copyright while allowing other parties to copy, distribute, and make some use of the work--at least noncommercially.

Each one also ensures that licensors receive credit for their work, and the licenses are valid all around the world and last as long as applicable copyright lasts.