One of the great things about meeting new people is that I get to learn and grow.  Over the last week I’ve found a number of great quotes that I’d like to share with you.  I’ve retweeted some of them and others I haven’t (gotta keep it interesting, you know).

I thought I’d also join the bandwagon of people telling you which tools they use.  I’m certainly not trying to tell you that mine are the best. But I like them and I’d like to share some love with the developers.

The Quotes:

• Stripped of all its trappings, leadership is the courage to do the right thing.
  via Twitter / @LeadershipNow
• Before God we are all equally wise – and equally foolish. – Albert Einstein #tcot #quote
  via Twitter / @johnsykes1035
• Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. C. S. Lewis
  via Twitter / @LifeVerse
• Its not the amount [sic] of hours you have per day that matters, its what you do with your hours that matters. Remove your distractions & win!
  via Twitter / @DBlakeSmith
• Faith is putting all your eggs in God’s basket, then counting your blessings before they hatch.  ~Carroll
  via Twitter / @revtrev
• A rich sense of confidence comes from three kinds of beliefs: confidence in self, trust in others, and faith in God.
  Tim Sanders in Today We Are Rich (affiliate link)
• Somebody can promote you to a leadership position but you have to earn the right to truly lead.
  via Twitter / @LeadToday
• Wise leaders create an environment where advisors are encouraged to give their input.
  via Twitter / @BarryWerner

The Tools

Lately I’ve used several tools to help me blog and manage Twitter. Even though I’ve blogged and tweeted off and on for several years, this is the first time I’ve been intentional about what I’m doing. But, since I also have a life and a job I’m using a few tools to change the way that I do things – to get more done and have more impact. (disclosure – this section has some affiliate links)

Buffer

Buffer is really slick and it’s one of the tools I’ve started using only recently.  It helps me automatically schedule tweets for the times of day when they will have the most impact.  This is important for me because I actually have a day job and a family and, believe it or not, my employer actually expects me to work while I’m at work.  But with Buffer I can notice your amazing tweet or blog and set it to post at the time that will give you (or me) the most exposure.

Believe me, it’s easy and has definitely helped me.  One of the things that I like most is that I don’t have to set the time for each tweet, Buffer just drops it in the next high-impact slot.

If you’d like to try Buffer, too, you can do that here. (if you sign up using my link, I will get extra tweets in my buffer queue but so will you)

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HootSuite

Hootsuite is another tool I use to manage Twitter as well as Facebook and to schedule tweets.  It brings the ability to manage multiple social networks to the table and I really like that.  If it had a preset schedule for tweets like Buffer does, it would win hands-down in my book.  But it doesn’t (are you listening, Hootsuite?).

The real power here (for me) is that I can use the same app to manage @bdentzy and @SpringhouseWAC on Twitter, my personal Facebook account, and Springhouse Worship and Arts Center on Facebook.

If you’ve never tried out Hootsuite, I highly recommend it. (that’s an affiliate link)

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Formulists

I’ve never been great at managing lists of people on Twitter.  But now that I’m following more than 1,000 people I need a little help.  Enter Formulists.

Formulists helps me by automatically creating Twitter lists.  I use it to meet new and interesting people and to keep track of people who’ve recently followed me.  That’s the only way I can think of to give them the time they deserve since I’ve already formed relationships with some of the other people in my network.  If you’re a new follower, you might notice that you’re on Recent-Followers.  Formulist helped me with that.

I’d recommend that you give Formulists a try. (if you sign up using that link I’ll get a free list and so will you)

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Flipboard

I’ll admit it. I’m an iPad geek (affiliate link).  Most of the other tools I’ve listed help me to manage users and tweet more effectively.  Flipboard is a super-cool iPad app that helps me read more effectively (if you don’t have an iPad, I recommend Feedly).

Flipboard takes my RSS feeds from Google Reader, my Twitter stream, some Twitter searches I’ve saved, my Facebook news feed, and so much more and presents it in a way that’s visually stunning and super-easy to read.  I can read more simply because it’s easier to read.

So, if you’re an iPad user, why don’t you flip over to Flipboard?

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What about you?

I’m a bit of a tool nerd now.  Why not tell me what tools that have made your social media life better and easier?

Share the love!