This week saw another patent award (this time for Google), the CDC launch a massive social-media campaign, and lots of academic and MBA-style theorizing about the business value of social-media marketing. And apparently your grandparents are using Facebook.

TV, NASCAR, and the U.S. military are all embracing social media? How much more evidence does corporate America need? It ain’t going away, folks.

Reactions to the 2010 Super Bowl ads were reported early and often: The tally of mad, mid-game tweets let us know what the digital mavens were thinking. But what about the rest of the country? The folks who prefer to enjoy their social media on work computers in the days after?

Everybody is doing it, even the president. Technology and social media are playing a big role in global, national, and local news and events. In the meantime, big companies and a generation of old-timers are trying to figure “it” out.

Despite the amazing opportunities, many companies are realizing how fraught with danger the waters are. Many marketers tend to forget that you’re doomed to failure if you don’t pay attention to your customer. You can’t force feed anything to anyone these days.

Social media is big business. The big players are getting bigger and everyone wants a piece of the action. But does big business get it? And will it use social media for good or evil?