The Captain announced, "Whale to the starboard", and a mini-stampede of about 70 tourists scampered over just in time for the briefest of glimpses as it quickly submerged again. Everyone jostled and jockied for position to get the perfect camara shot for when that darn whale resurfaced.

But of course, it wasn't going to work out this way. "Whale to the port side", announced the Captain, and the stampede to the other side literally rocked the boat. Naturally, the whale had disappeared by then as well.

This went on like this. back and forth, for about twenty minutes. The whale seemed to be toying with human nature -- the tendency for people to do what everyone else was doing.

And EVERYONE was zigging when they should have been zagging. There were no "individuals". They moved as a group in their futile quest to snap off a clear and revealing shot.

Are you moving with the crowd on the internet, or are you striking out on your own unique path, one more likely to get noticed?

If you observe your own specific internet marketplace, it's very likely you'll find that the vast majority of the "crowd" are doing the sames things in the same ways ... and they're also getting the same poor results.

This presents a golden opportunity to be noticed by doing things differently.

Successful entrepreneurs, both online and off, are innovators and risk takers. They experiment, evaluate and evolve until they successfully convey that both who they are and what they offer is unique in the marketplace, despite all the competition.

To seperate yourself from the pack, you need to look at every aspect of your internet marketing effort and ask yourself, "What's unique about this?" And, "how does this contribute to my own unique web presence?"

Here's some important areas to look at to get you started.

* Are you playing it safe and trying to please and sell everyone, and consequently selling to almost no one?

* Why should your prospects believe YOU when they are skeptical of so many others?

* How about your newsletter? Is it similar to countless others or is there a unique theme or tone running through it?

* While your ads may be well written, is the overall message very much the same as the pack?

* How is your sales page unique? And have you given it a measured dose of your own personality?

This process of developing a distinct "uniqueness" is subjective, involves risks, takes work to implement, and time to evaluate and change again if necessary. But in doing so, you will develop the factors crucial to successfully setting yourself apart in a very competitive marketplace.

Back onboard, my wife took a chance and finally went to the OTHER SIDE of the boat, alone. Sure enough, the whale popped up for a few seconds, she got the shot, and that was the last that was seen of that whale, or any other, for the rest of the trip. There were alot of unhappy tourists grumbling on the way back.

Stand out from the crowd. Move to the empty side of the boat ... and you'll stand a much better chance of getting your picture of the whale.