Why do I do it? Twitter, a blog, Facebook, about.me, Posterous, another Twitter, another blog…

This is one question that I am often asked and one I ask myself all the time, especially when I haven’t posted on my blog in a while (cough, first post this month, cough).

Answers to this question often include some variation of the following:

• I need to use the tools to truly understand the business implications.
• To stay competitive as a candidate in my field, I have to show competency – and even expertise – with social media.
• There’s a conversation taking place. I want to take part, and I think I have something worthwhile to say.

However, I’d like to throw out another potential reason for our use of social media: avoiding a second death.

I recently read Have a Little Faith by Mitch Alborn. In the book, the main character is asked by his childhood Rabbi to deliver the eulogy at his future funeral. In their conversations, the Rabbi brings up the idea of a second death – which is scarier than actual death for many people.

So, how does someone die twice?

A second death, in short, occurs when someone is forgotten, not out of spite or the intentional actions of others, but just naturally. Once friends, family members, colleagues are no longer around to share stories and memories – that’s a person’s second death. Let me move on, because I don’t want my first post this month to be a total buzz kill.

The Internet, however, is forever. Facebook profiles, Twitter feeds, blogs (for as long as you pay to host the domain) are legacies of one’s existence, life and experiences.

So, is this why we do it? A desire to make our mark in the giant timelines of life and after? To prove, long after we’re gone, that we existed, had opinions and did something?

I think this is a part of it, but maybe not something that everyone is willing to admit.

What do you think? Why do you do it?