Lisa…uh…was…is…am…

Not exactly breaking news anymore, but the IS on Facebook status is now gone. For reals this time (it disappeared for a moment right before Thanksgiving, sending shockwaves to the whole Valley and the Blogosphere at large, and was the top story at TechMeme).

Like…OMG…the “is” is gone!

I wonder if this matters to anyone else outside of Palo Alto, soon to be known as Bubble Central?

Ok, but all that aside, why all this attention to Facebook status? And only because it falls under the same category, why do we Twitter? Why do we need to instantaneously update the rest of the world about what we’re doing, feeling, eating, reading?

Here are my reasons:

Some people DO want and need to know what I’m doing or where I’m at, but the need doesn’t always warrant a phone call just to ask “whatchadoin?” Not that I don’t want to take the time to talk to friends and family, it’s just that if I did this with everyone I cared about, I’d be on personal phone calls all day long, imposing on people’s time, just to tell them hey, I’m at work, if you need me, this is where I can be reached.

A couple of months ago right after the earthquake, I updated my Facebook status about the quake and that the kids and I were alright. I must also note that phone lines were down momentarily right after the quake, most likely because the system was overloaded with people trying to make contact with their loved ones.  I’m proud that I was not part of that burden.

2) Twitter is not confined to your computer. You can send updates from your mobile phone and your “followers” can receive your updates via their preferred method — e-mail, mobile device, or IM. From my perspective as a marketer, Twitter allows me to extend my reach beyond those who are constantly in front of their browser, to those who are out and about on their mobile devices.

How about you? If you update your status on a regular basis via Facebook or Twitter, what are your reasons for doing it religiously?