I know it seems like I am obsessing over the fact that Google is marketing Google+ but it is a rare phenomenon in this world to see a company that almost never used traditional advertising channels now turn to them to build awareness around a critical piece of their story.

We have seen plenty of TV ads for Chrome that elude to the Google ecosystem but recently that are all about Google+ and nothing else. We have seen the Muppets and I have seen one ad with NBA analysts during the opening day marathon of games on Christmas Day.

One that caught my eye though was this from the New York Post’s online edition.

Twitter is all about being viral. It’s about what is hot and trending at the moment. It is a way to get news before other media outlets can get it to you. It’s the new wave of media, right?

Well, according to a study from MIT as reported by 10,000 Words, Twitter is most likely to want to thank the media for fueling its growth while it’s trying to speed traditional media’s demise. The video below depicts the spread of Twitter usage over its existence and the major growth coincides with media coverage and old school networking principles based on tracking of news through Google Insights for Search. The video below depicts this growth.

First, we hope you had a Merry Christmas and are easing your way back into work with an easy “wind down” week. We highly recommend it if possible .

To keep you alert, here is a cautionary tale to end the year on. It involves an employee, the Twitter account they kept while working for a company, an “agreement” and the logical end to all things uncertain, a lawsuit.

The New York Times tells us about Noah Kravitz formerly of Phonedog.com

The question is: Can a company cash in on, and claim ownership of, an employee’s social media account, and if so, what does that mean for workers who are increasingly posting to Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus during work hours?

A lawsuit filed in July could provide some answers.