Yesterday, I really stepped through the looking glass when I started my new job in interactive marketing at what we’ll call “the company.” In a single moment, my audience shrank from being the entirety of the social media realm to the brand managers, agency representatives and creatives associated with a multimillion dollar, multiple category-leading brand operation. Alice, you’ve just been left in the dust.

The view on this side of the aisle is very different from being just a blogger or just an MBA student. It’s a world where social media is not necessarily king but it’s part of my job to make sure it at least receives a seat at the table.

I mention this because it feels really easy to take strategies like blogging, podcasting, social networking and twittering for granted when you’re a part of the social media community. As we head down the home stretch for planning PodCamp Nashville (FYI – March 7th, Owen Graduate School of Management), I realize that geeks and brand managers get excited around very different things.

Now, I proudly call myself “a geek” and am willing to get up at 6 AM to write about it. Getting excited about the technology like RSS however is not enough to bridge the gap to explain why brand managers should care about it.

Right now, for instance, I have re-organized my feed reader, subscribed to about a half a dozen of AdWeek’s daily newsletters and am gearing up to make my 20 minute commute all about catching up on my Managing the Grey and Six Pixels of Separation. This is all in an effort so I have the tools to give social media the shot it deserves at the company.

I hope use my session at PodCamp on Business Blogging & Podcasting to continue this dialogue but what are you’re thoughts on the best ways to position social media for Brand Managers? What ways can I best serve our team so that I both maintain the edge I am able to develop for the brands with social media as well as my sanity?

Oh…one more thing:

PodCamp: Resistance Is Futile…
We Will Guilt-Trip You Into Coming!