If you happen to be unfamiliar with the newest social networking craze, having lived under a rock or something similar, Twitter is a micro-blogging site where followers can stay in touch with what you’re doing in any given moment in 140 characters or less.

OK … Maybe Twitter hasn’t completely changed my life, but it has certainly helped me in one very practical, unexpected way I want to tell you about.

I didn’t go totally kicking and screaming into the Twitterverse, but I have to admit I didn’t get it at first. I couldn’t understand who or why anyone would want to know the up-to-the-minute details of my hum-drum daily life.

After a co-worker (@divpix) explained the value from his perspective, I decided to try it. I’ve only been Twittering about a month now, but I’ve already laughed out loud, been encouraged, and been inspired by the various like-minded people I follow. I also learned how to ‘push’ my Twitter updates to automatically update my Facebook account, too. Very cool.

But I’m surprised to experience a benefit with a pretty cool practical application.

I love quotes, but I am not a natural note taker. Sitting in church last Sunday morning, I realized that I was listening to the message in a new way I’d never really done before. I was consciously listening for brief soundbites that would make good Tweets. My mind was actively listening with a new level of focus and intentionality. I was calculating in real-time how to quote the pastor in 140 characters or less.

After church, the above Tweet from my BlackBerry (while waiting for our table at a restaurant) is a direct result of my newfound love of Twitter. Maybe one reason it works that way is because notes are only for me and require reviewing them at a later time. Yeah, right. Like that’s ever gonna happen. Tweets, on the other hand, are for my followers, as well as myself. It’s an incredibly easy way to share little golden nuggets.

Anyone else have a Twitter success story they’d like to share?