I love how bloggers and “social media gurus” talk about building “personal brand” by one of two ways.  They either lay out a list of how-to items to make your super special personal brand stronger or they say the basic line: Just be yourself! Either way it seems that people don’t listen or have meltdowns trying to carry out the advice.  Everyone out there copies the original bloggers and no one says anything new.  Everyone wants to build a personal brand for themselves but is afraid to do anything different or unique.

There are very few original voices and ideas online.  Everything else is just a less exciting copy of that original version.  It is quite disappointing.

I understand how it happens.  When you want to blog but have no ideas about what to write or who you are or what your super special personal brand should be, it just seems easier to search the fanciest blogs and then do what they are doing.  Clearly their ideas are working.  People like them and read what they say.  If you just do the same thing you will get the same results.  Right?  Right?  That must be what people think.

Matt Cheuvront, one of the few good bloggers I recently found out there, wrote a guest post about personal branding and questioned whether we (20 somethings) are too young to worry about it. His best point: “There is NO right or wrong in the personal branding world. Your personal brand is YOU – whatever that means, for better or worse, you are who you are and once you embrace that and run with it, everything else will fall into place.”

Ah.  Be YOU.  Be who YOU really are.  Run with it.  Don’t try to build a personal brand around what you think you should be or someone you think you should act like.  That doesn’t just go for young people but for anyone.

Why spend your time being fake hoping someone will notice and like the fake version of yourself?  Seems like a fruitless endeavor to me.

First, stop trying to be someone you aren’t.  Second, don’t take other people’s advice on how to be authentic.  If you need someone to tell you how to be yourself then YOU AREN’T BEING YOURSELF. Being authentic and real comes from inside.  It’s just who you are.  No matter what the subject I’d rather read about it from someone who is being themself rather than trying to be something or someone they are not.

Perhaps it is just me, but I don’t understand why we all seem to need someone to tell us how to be who we are.  Unless we are all trying to be the same?  Oh, is that the goal?   I sure hope it isn’t.

I follow @memphisnews because it is the best feed of Memphis news stories plus Kerry has built a community around it. I also follow other Memphis media and those that work in and around it: @theogeo, @webraw, @scribblescrawl, @wendi_c_thomas, @NewsCam, @valonfox, @RichardRansom3, @kontjianthony, @JamalMajor, @richardalley, @MemphisFlyer, @Mediaverse

For great thoughts on local Memphis topics I follow @jensized, @memphisjed, @GatesofMemphis (and everyone else on this list.)

I follow @greggwitt because he likes to bike and has a lot of good insight about the happenings in Memphis. Other bicycling folks in Memphis: @jonesdavide, @ismh, @memgreenline, @cliff_heegel, @ibikememphis

I follow @kookycanuck because Kooky Canuck makes delicious food, know hows to use social media for his business, and he let me order lunch through Twitter. Other social media types in Memphis who I follow: @LunaWeb, @lalunablanca, @blakepalmer, @bethgsanders, @thespacebase, @onehalfamazing, @mtaylor, @m_barger, @cbahm, @joespake (plus he can sell you a house).

For business and entrepreneurial thoughts and information I follow @ECMathews who is a leader helping Memphians launch startups. Also good for business insights: @brettgb, @mardiaz

I follow @thechrishaley because he draws great comics. More creative people in Memphis: @amiev (photo), @cpritchett (painting), @regalnites (photo), @MyBrewTube (movies), @jtimberlake (music)

I follow @gorocketfuel and the team there because they are an awesome company making badass websites in Memphis. The RocketFuel team: @LMReeves, @reubenb, @loribrunson, @caitlin, @rsbrown

The PR and Marketing people in Memphis I follow: @jameshutto, @SMSmidsouth, @LoriTurner, @Patrick_PR, @lokion, @VIDAPR, @reddeluxe, @HowellMarketing

I follow some Memphis people just for laughs: @sloganeerist, @fancycwabs, @bdix, @knots

These people I follow because they are awesome Memphians who have helped me, answered my questions, or made me smile: @dpritchett, @loudersoft, @rakuette, @skippytpe, @kjester, @paulandash, @moodyboy, @ruebenrock, @zacattac, @cechastain, @directorjones, @elisper, @mdinstuhl

I follow @mikejarrell because he likes Memphis tweetups. Other people I’ve met thanks to Twitter, #saucersunday and various tweetups: @Jabrown85, @Jabrown84, @calebt, @themortalcoil, @scout, @Potato_Chip, @bgswanson, @heatherleanne, @lemonslush, @Aranhia, @SWB, @team140, @suzanneschmidle, @susankmealer, @toddw

And of course I follow the people I know in real life @COYIS, @glamrokz, @BenJBailey, @StephanieMarieS, @LaurenWarberg, @Heather_Alysse, @bkblanket

(This list is not complete and it is always growing and changing. Feel free to recommend people I should follow in the Memphis area. I’m @marythompson on Twitter.)