Interesting food for thought, all....as with most things there are salient points to consider in both approaches to developing your own "style." My personal (and ideal) approach is to try not to be influenced by anyone or anything - just play whatever I feel, for better or worse. Social scientists fantasize about such experiments: give a subject who's never heard music a guitar, isolate the subject from outside musical influences and see what develops...and, most of us can probably name off someone whose approach to their instrument was so unique, who pioneered a sound that was considered so radical or unconventional (the composer Charles Ives comes to mind), that it seems as though they emerged from exactly such an experiment...in reality, though, I find that I am influenced by everything I've ever heard..from commercial jingles to ambient noise...I'm just a walking conglomeration of everything I've ever heard...and one can make an argument for that approach also. After all, one of the most recognizable forms of music (rock 'n roll) built on the framework of another recognizable form of music (blues), by adding a twist here and there. And there's always room for a few more new forms: Heavy Metal Country & Western, or New Age Blues....bands with names like "Dark Tractor" or "Harmonica Dream-Catchers."

Regards, Neil