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Whenever I hear any variation of the phrase “Everyone is unique”, I cringe. Despite what most people may claim to believe, I do not find this statement to be true. It’s just something that people say to make boring people feel better about themselves. I suppose that everyone is technically different, but that hardly makes everyone unique. I define being unique as being memorable and worth talking about (and preferably in a good way).

To me, following the same trends and fashions because everyone else is doing it does not make one unique. When I’m trying to get to know someone, I hate when I ask what kind of music he listens to and he replies “Everything”. Really? Really, dude? Everything? Way to go out on a limb and stick out. “Everything” is the least unique answer anyone could ever give.

I understand that things become popular for a reason — a great mass of people can relate to them. But when you never step outside the realm of popularity, you become very uncool.

This is something that applies to the business world as well. If you’re following the same trends as others in your industry, how can you expect to stand out? When you cease to be innovative and gutsy, you cease to be unique. What if Google had decided to play it safe and do things more in line with what other search engines were doing? You’d still be hopping between Yahoo! and AltaVista (Why would we do want to do that? Google is awesome!)

Part of being unique is having a passion for something.

Don’t read a book just because it’s a classic. Read it because it interests you. Don’t be afraid to pick up American Psycho instead of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Don’t buy that Beatles CD because everyone tells you that they’re the best band of all time. If you think they suck, then they do. And in my world, they do!

Do you really want to be just like everyone else? The majority of people are boring. All too often, I catch myself meeting the same person over and over again in different people. But every once in a while, I meet someone who’s truly one of a kind. And that’s the kind of person who is memorable and worth talking about (and in a good way).

When you’re afraid to be unique, you are afraid to brand yourself. And right now, that’s the last thing you need to be afraid to do.

I asked this question a while back on Facebook and Twitter and was unable to start a discussion, so I figured I would try asking this question on my blog. Is maintaining a LinkedIn account worth the trouble?

I do have a LinkedIn account. And I’ll go ahead and admit that I have not devoted much time and effort to building my brand on the network. The primary reason is that the site feels as if it is geared toward the Baby Boomer generation. It feels more corporate and impersonal, much like a resume. Very few of my contacts are on the site, so that makes it harder to effectively build a network. Although I feel that the site is geared toward the Baby Boomers, Dan Schawbel, who undoubtedly identifies himself as Generation Y, constantly talks about the importance of using LinkedIn. On the flipside, there’s David Meerman Scott, who argues that he doesn’t need LinkedIn because it would steal time he could be using to focus on the areas he’s strongest in. Seth Godin use that same logic to explain why he is not on Twitter.

Obviously, I’m leaning the same as David Meerman Scott. As Scott argues, you don’t want to spread yourself thin across too many networks. Right now, I feel that dividing my time between a blog, Facebook, and Twitter is enough.

Also, as my friend Ben Woodall pointed out while we were discussing this issue, you have to pay for the cool features on LinkedIn. With a free account, you can’t even view the whole profile of someone who is not in your contact list. And even when you do pay, you get access to a limited number of invites and messages every month. Most employers scan Facebook profiles and Tweetstreams of potential employees as it is, so am I really missing out?

Has having a LinkedIn account been beneficial for you? Can you share an experience that justifies paying for the good stuff? Please share!