StackTips | Boost Productivity with Alinof Timer

Time management is paramount for startups like StackSocial. If you want your business to thrive, or even your career, efficient time management is the cornerstone to success. Knowledge and skills just don’t cut it in todays competitive job market; motivation, efficiency, effort, and drive is what will separate you from the rest. 

Our biggest enemy is ourselves. It’s just too easy to stray away from a task to check Facebook, Twitter, sports scores, shop, upon hundreds of other distractions accessible from the same screen as our work.

Task/time management is crucial and is more in depth than you may think. We recommend checking out David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” to tap into an industry leading task management system/philosophy. In the meantime, here is a great little tip to make sure you are handling your tasks in a timely fashion. 

Meet one of our favorite Mac Apps: Alinof Timer. This little on screen gadget will simply help you get more done by leveraging the immense power of FOCUS.

Here are a couple tips on how to maximize this awesome tool:

• Kick off the day by writing down all your to-dos.
• Assign reasonable time blocks to your tasks. (i.e. 30 minutes of outbound sales emails)
• Set the Alinof Timer at the start of your task and get crankin’!

Once you set the timer and press the start button, you MUST promise yourself you will do nothing besides focus completely on the task at hand. Do not respond to emails, check Facebook, etc. You can do these thing between tasks, but when the timer is going you must be 100% focused.

Focus is crucial. Surfing the web will not make you more money. Be mindful of your work and give it your sole attention. Not only will you increase your efficiency, but your proficiency as well. 

Check out this quick video tutorial on how to utilize the Alinof Timer:

A Peek Inside StackSocial!

Check out the new StackSocial profile on The Muse! The Muse is a business-oriented website that takes you behind the scenes of thriving companies ranging from hip new startups (StackSocial!) to fortune 500 companies. We couldn’t be more flattered to have the StackSocial name wedged in between the likes of Pinterest, AOL, foursquare, Spotify, TED, NPR and a number of other highly reputable companies. 

Not only was this an excellent opportunity to show our customers and potential employees an inside look at StackSocial, but a long gander in the mirror of where we stand as a company. The time spent with The Muse to develop our profile was a zesty refresher of our direction and goals; a welcomed reflection as we roar into 2013. 

There is no question our pirate ship took some nicks and bumps in 2012, but we learned loads and our growth exceeded expectations. After holiday festivities, we are rejuvenated and ready for the new year! A big thanks to The Muse who did a sensational job capturing Stack culture, mindset, and aspirations. We consider our Muse profile a stylish and accurate depiction of our startup that we would love for you to see. 

So come on in! Leave your shoes on, crack a cold bevvy, check out some pics and meet the team! 

If your a career oriented individual in the least, we highly suggest checking out The Muse website for inspiration, career advice, motivation, or possibly even a sweet new gig.

Lastly, Happy New Year, Stackers! Expect some dauntingly dope website features along with some seriously sick deals over the next 12 months; we have BIG plans for 2013!

Enhance Your Mac | The Mac TuneUp Bundle

We’re going out on a limb here and gonna say that just about everyone enjoys music. The Ultimate Music App Bundle will ensure you get the most from your computer’s audio capabilities. Whether you want to get the most from your iTunes and improve your stock sounds, or learn how to mix it up with high-quality DJ software, this music bundles got you covered!

The most comprehensive iTunes organizer, TuneUp, runs for $50 alone. Not only do you save $11 on TuneUp, but you get 7 additional awesome music apps that would typically run you $300+. Organize your iTunes as if every song was purchased from the iTunes store. Create your own music with The T-Pain Engine and then mash it up MegaSeg DJ. Integrate iTunes on your menubar to avoid cluttering up your computer with additional windows and programs. Boost the volume and increase the quality of your Macs internal speakers. Back up to 50 gigs of music, and much MUCH more.

Check out all the included apps here: 

• TuneUp - TuneUp Media’s music clean up app hooks up with iTunes to organize and categorize your music from top to bottom. This is highly-regarded as the top iTunes companion app in the industry. With TuneUp you’ll have your iTunes cleaned up in no time. (Value: $50.00)
• MegaSeg DJ - Instead of limiting yourself to party music on your iPod with awkward gaps or abrupt cuts between tracks, with MegaSeg DJ you can seamlessly mix, beat match, and preview songs right from your entire library to create a fun party experience for everyone. (Value: $99.00)
• The T-Pain Engine - This self-contained beat-making and vocal recording application powers you through from start to finish, even if you’re brand new to music production. (Value: $30.00 )
• Tracks - Tracks is an intuitive and powerful Mac application that embraces the ease of use of your Mac and integrates itself into the foundation of your machine to provide a seamless musical experience. (Value: $10.00)
• Flip4Mac Studio - With Flip4Mac you can create Windows Media easily right from your Mac using pre-configured settings. (Value: $49.00)
• Boom for Mac - Can’t hear the sound coming from your Mac? With Boom for Mac…that problem is solved. This app packs a major punch and will boost your volume and equalize – leading to enhanced sound on your Mac. (Value: $7.00)
• Ondesoft Audio Recorder - This intuitive and powerful app lets you record voice or music directly from a microphone, CD player, line-in devices, or sound being played by other applications and webpages including RealPlayer, iTunes,YouTube, Safari, Firefox, QuickTime, VLC, and more. (Value: $30.00)
• SOS Online Backup - SOS Online Backup for Home Office is an award-winning automatic backup web application for up to five PCs, Macs, Androids and iPhones/iPads. Now you can store up to 50GB of your Music collection for one year right in a secure online backup application. (Value: $80.00)

Get the most out of your Macs music and audio capabilities for only $39! 

StackTips | How To Screen Record With Quicktime

Screen recording can be a very profitable business. Lynda.com is a multi million dollar business based almost soley on screen recorded videos. Other big time sites like Udemy.com offer an abundance of screen recording videos educating people around the world on a vast variety of subjects.

Now YOU can join the party! In this video tutorial, we show you how to make your own screen recordings using Quicktime. And because QuickTime comes standard with most Macs you can start making these videos today for Free!

These videos are great for training purposes. Maybe you need to train your employees on how to use certain software or maybe teach your mom how to use Facebook. Either way, a screen recording video is a much better teaching tool than any written document.

So stop reading and start recording :)

Check it out!

StackSocial Joins Forces With Digital Trends

Today, we are announcing a new partnership with one of the preeminent voices in the tech world - Digital Trends. Digital Trends provides tech editorial, reviews, sneak-peeks, and much more to an audience of over 15 million tech enthusiasts every month.

Whether you are a casual consumer or a hardcore techie, Digital Trends is the place to keep informed on all relevant news and products. And now you can score some of these awesome products at at unreal price directly from Digital Trends Deals!

There is no denying that Digital Trends M.O. is bringing the best of breed tech products, reviews, and news to an influential audience. We, here at StackSocial, share the same philosophy and are always working hard to deliver offer sales on only the best apps, gadgets, software, and tech gear. 

We work directly with our publisher partners to get the inside scoop not only on popular apps and products like Call of Duty 4, Parallels 8, and Incase, but also new and upcoming gems waiting to be discovered.  Run across a cool new app? Send it on over! 

Ultimately, our number one resource is you, the customer.  If you ever want to see a Digital Trends Deal that we don’t offer, give us a shout on twitter @stacksocial or at deals@digitaltrends.com and we’ll do our best to land it at an unbeatable price.  

We couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership and look forward to bringing exclusive deals to the Digital Trends fan base. 

#StackUp

-Team Stack

StackTips | Signing Documents Digitally

Printing off documents, signing, and scanning them is soo 2005. Why people still do this is beyond us at StackSocial. 

Not only is this a huge time waster but a paper waster as well. Save time and go green!

All it takes is the Preview app that comes pre-installed on most Macs. We know Preview seems like it is no frills, but it makes signing ANY PDF electronically a jif and it literally takes seconds. So feel free to throw that scanner out the window!

This is not just a digital signature where you type in your initials. Oh no. We are talking about your actual signature on the actual document.

It’s actually quite simple. Just sign a piece of paper and snap a picture of it with your webcam. Once that is saved within Preview, you are good to go!

Kiss Carpal tunnel goodbye!

Have any questions or concerns? Leave a comment!

Check it out:

The Biggest Mini Bundle Ever: The Mac Utility Bundle

As we head into November, almost all the leaves have dropped and the temperature has followed suit. When it gets chilly outside there is only one thing we can do… 

Bundle up! 

Nothing like a little pre Black Friday special to kick off the holiday shopping season. Don’t worry, StackSocial still has BIG bargains in store for Friday and Cyber Monday, but we figured a little precursor couldn’t hurt. 

Stack up early with The Mac Utility Bundle. This game changing mini bundle features Parallels Desktop 8 alongside 4 other quality apps that will save you time and optimize your mac. Parallels is easily one of the best Mac apps and the jump from 7 to 8 is the biggest in years. 

Don’t believe us? We don’t blame you. Though a quick Google search for Parallels 8 reviews will give you a taste of some of the amazing features Parallels has implemented in their most recent version. 

Windows and Apple have both made some serious changes to their operating systems as of late. In order to stay relavant, Parallels launched their 8th version so users could get the most out of both systems. 

Here are SOME of the major improvements:

• Parallels is now up to 30% faster for read/write operations, 30% faster for games and up to 25% faster on boot, suspend, shutdown and resume actions.
• Use Mountain Lion’s new voice dictation feature in any Windows app that accepts text.
• Drag and drop any file right between your VM and your OS X machine, or vice-versa.
• Windows apps and most UI elements have been revamped by Parallels to take advantage of the sleek new Apple Retina display. 

If that doesn’t do it for you, we have thrown in 4 other apps to sweeten the pot. Snagit will increase your productivity and communication while VirusBarrier X6, MacOptimizer, and Rubbertnet will keep your Mac running fast, clean, and secure. 

Already have a previous version of Parallels. The $60 price tag is already competative with the $50 upgrade. Why not spend an extra $10 and get over $165 worth of Mac? The throw-ins alone make this deal worth it. 

Need to spruce up your Mac? Stack’s got your back!

Click here to grab The Mac Utility Bundle before it’s too late!

Stack App Favorites | Cloud App

In today’s work environment we are constantly critiquing every improvable aspect of our businesses. Sometimes it can be a struggle to share our thoughts and opinions without visuals. Luckily there is hope…

Meet Cloud App. This convenient tool gives you the ability to easily take and send screenshots as links to relay exactly what you are observing from your computer to anyone, anywhere. This is beneficial for just about anyone, but especially for those of us in the tech startup world.

This process used to be an absolute pain. Now it’s as simple as taking a screenshot and pasting a link! Cloud’s benefits don’t end there though.

Cloud App is an integrated Mac App and Web App which allows you to connect to Cloud App’s virtual safety deposit box/cloud server. Confidently store your screenshots for later reference in a tidy folder automatically. 

For example, you could easily designate ALL your screenshots to be automatically uploaded to the cloud. Not only does this keep your desktop nice and clean, but essentially backs up any screenshot you take. It’s like a little screenshot organizing assistant!

This nifty little time saver is easily one of our favorite tools at Stack HQ and we use it daily in the office. Visual examples and communication tools like these improve communication and efficiency more than you could imagine.

Let’s just say we are proud to Cloud :)

Check it out:

Please comment below with any questions or concerns!