Go log in to any of one of the social networking sites you belong to and undoubtedly you will see an update from that one friend of yours who only speaks in quotes. You may even have more than one if you’re lucky. My friends that do this are prototypical literati who share day-making quotes from noted authors and artists. My knee-jerk inclination is toward cynicism whenever I see this stuff, but honestly it’s not a bad way to share what’s on your mind. It’s obtuse, but sharing quotes beats the hell out of those dolts who believe the contents of their dinner plate make for thrilling status updates.

TED, the amazing non-profit that makes science a top-shelf brand of sexy, launched a new service today that might will enrich the quality of those shared quotes that pervade your news stream: TED Quotes. In the blog post that announced the launch, TED hopes that the new service will make TEDTalks “more accessible, digestible, and shareable.” Additionally, focusing on key quotes from TEDTalks could be a great way to bait people to seek out the entire presentation from which the quote was taken.

Visitors to the TED Quotes site will be able to browse assorted samples from TEDTalks with an option to listen to the speaker actually say the quote. Additionally, sharing tools linked with Facebook, Twitter, and email are included with each quote should one of the statements strike your fancy. Additionally, when you share a quote, you’ll be linked back to quote’s TEDTalk where you can either watch the talk in full or skip to the part where the quote was spoken.

If you’re a TED newb or simply haven’t taken the time to acquaint yourself with the group’s awesomeness, check out a couple of the talks below to whet your curiosity.

If you took every nuclear weapon ever built at the height of the Cold War, lumped them together and blew them up at the same time, that would be one one-millionth of the energy released at that moment. — Phil Plait, on the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs.

What’s it like to be a baby? It’s like being in love in Paris for the first time after you’ve had three double espressos. — Alison Gopnik

When you look at the Moon, you think, ‘I’m really small. What are my problems?’ It sets things into perspective. We should all look at the Moon a bit more often. — Alain de Botton

One day, I crossed the bridge over the Oxus River. I was alone on foot. And the Afghan soldier was so surprised to see me that he forgot to stamp my passport. But he gave me a cup of tea. — Monika Bulaj

In a culture driven by 140-character compositions, meaningful quotations can relate a great deal to someone’s friends in a artful and condensed manner. When you go exploring the TED Quotes, though, be warned: you’re venturing into wondrous and fascinating lands, my friend, from which you will not return so easily. So make sure you’ve got the next hour or so free.