Resources
Over the years, I've had the opportunity to try many different tools and services. Some have stuck while others have fallen by the wayside. Here are my top recommendations when it comes to the slew of things I'm interested in and do. Hope it helps!
Some of the links in this list are affiliate links, which I may earn some revenue from, at no additional cost to you. Whether or not a product, service, page, or tool on this page has an affiliate program has no bearing on the recommendation. These are tools I would wholeheartedly recommend for their specific functions :)
You can use this section to quickly navigate to a section of interest:
Business Development Personal PodcastsBusiness
Marketing Tools
- SumoMe (Website Traffic Tools)
- VWO (A/B Testing)
- Zopim (In-site Chat Client)
- Visualping (Check Site Differences)
- Inspectlet (User Interaction Playback)
- Hootsuite (Twitter Client)
- Buffer (Scheduling Out Posts)
- Help a Reporter
- Rapportive (Identification via Email)
- Google Analytics (Analytics)
- The Old Reader (RSS Reader)
- Startuplister (Single-point Multi-Directory Posting Service)
Online Communication
- Slack - Try it and you'll believe too.
Finding Images
- Pixabay (Free Stock Photos) - Serves most of my needs with a pretty comprehensive selection of images.
- Pexels (Free Stock Photos) - My back-up when it comes to finding images.
- Flickr Creative Commons - This is a hit or miss, but more often than not, you can find pretty high quality images here.
Advertising
- AdWords - Tried and true.
Development
Website Development
- Hostgator (Hosting) - Tried numerous hosts including 000Webhost, InMotion, Bluehost, and now Hostgator. For what they have and offer, I like them the most and use them for pretty much everything I currently do.
- Namecheap (Domains) - I alternate between this domain company and Google Domains, but Namecheap always seems to be a better option, especially for first-time registration.
App Development
- App Annie (Analytics) - Keeps track of your application stats by capturing your app’s store data on a day-to-day basis.
- PoP aka Prototyping on Paper (Prototyping) - Allows you to draw your prototypes out and quickly link them together. No more having to code basic prototypes in order for you and others to test them.
Personal Stuff
Buying Things Online
- Amazon Prime - Free 2-day shipping might not seem like a huge plus, but it's a huge convenience that I gladly pay for. In addition, the music library and photo service are a huge plus for me.
- Paribus - Gets money stores owe you and automatically applies for a refund on your behalf.
- Invisible Hand (Extension) - Searches the web for prices on the item you're looking at and shows you what the cheapest options are.
- Camel Camel Camel (Extension) - Amazon price tracker that allows you to see a historical overview of prices and set price-specific alerts on items you're looking to buy. Can sync automatically with your Amazon wishlist.
- Raise (Gift Cards) - Get gift cards at slightly less than their full value. Pair with expected shopping for a larger than normal discount.
- Trackif (Extension) - Tracks the price of items that you tag for price drops and notifies you automatically when these discounts happen.
- eBates (Extension) - Provides money back on purchases you're probably already making. Install the browser plugin to get notified when you can activate and get cashback on an order.
Photography
- Dolica AX620B100 Ball Head Tripod - So much better than the standard fare that's out there.
Online Presence
- About.me (Personal Landing Page) - If you don't have a website, I recommend this as a good place to start especially if you want to be discovered more and have various social media outlets you use.
- My Permissions Cleaner (Account Alerts)
Online Learning
- Udemy - Theres's a lot of really great learning here.
Books
Podcasts
Business & Entrepreneurship
General Knowledge
- 99% Invisible
- Freakonomics Radio
- How to Do Everything
- Inquiring Minds
- Planet Money
- Radiolab
- Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project
- TED Radio Hour
Entertainment
Other
- AirBnB - For finding a place to stay off the beaten path.
- Dropbox - An awesome utility for making sure that everything is synced up and shared amongst devices.
- Evernote - A great place to store links from Facebook and other social profiles via IFTTT.
- IFTTT (Productivity Tool)
- Shyp (Shipping Tool) - Use my code "188JMST" for $30 off your first shipment!
- Tabletop Game Development Tools - See the expanded section at ignitewonder.com.
- Unroll.me (Manage Email Subscriptions) - Take control of your subscriptions with this handy tool.
- PadMapper (Apartment Hunting) - Aggregates multiple apartment listings to create a more comprehensive view of rentals in your target area.
- Teaology Tea Cups - Cups that will make your tea look awesome!
- iOttie Phone Mount (Hands-free Driving) - Easy-to-use and perfect for those hands-free laws.