I've been reflecting quite a bit lately. I'm not really sure why, but I'm just going to roll with it and see where it takes me.

As I stare at my empty mug, I think about legacies. Recent events like the fall from grace (and eventual death of) JoePa – and the contributions of social media during the turmoil – lead me to wonder how the participation (or lack thereof) in social networks will factor into one's legacy, either on a personal level or even from a branding perspective.

Let's use Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley for example. Grassley has been widely thumped for his indecipherable and often deliciously crazy tweets – and might I say rightly so. Happen to catch Stephen Colbert's discovery of Grassley? Awesome. Blaming his iPhone's autocorrect as the culprit, he is gaining much attention for his tweeting "style."

I present you with the following:

Exhibit A:

@toddruger: Your tweets draw attention/criticism, often because they sometimes have random punctuation or capital letters. What is the story behind why you leave those in there? Do you pay attention to anyone's reaction to your tweets?

@chuckgrassley: I think there are a couple of factors involved. I suppose a lot has to do with the automatic correcting done by my iPhone. Second, I love Tweeting, but I don't like to type. So, I probably type and hit send a little too quickly.

Exhibit B:

P — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) April 7, 2012

Exhibit C:

C me intrvud by greta van sunshine on FOX tonite at 9pm central. Fast and furious and white house stonewall my investigation — ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 29, 2012

Umm. Huh.

Make no mistake, I'm not singling him out because of his political affiliation, rather he's a prime example of how a legacy could become slightly overshadowed by his use of Twitter, rather than his political policies.

Honestly, are his 41K followers following him out of political support, or are they following him because he's a tweeting nightmare? Hell, I'm following him just for the lunacy and entertainment factor of his 140 characters, I'm not going to lie.

This begs the question: what will your online legacy be? Will your networks' perception of you be a true reflection of how you carry yourself every day? Does the "persona" you're building online parallel your true beliefs and viewpoints, or is it the polar opposite? What about for brands – are they doing themselves justice online?

I want to hear your thoughts. Talkback or hit me up on Twitter – I'm @bootyp.