Things I "Can't" talk about?

I've had it with Sitemeter. I find myself obsessively checking it. Tailoring my blogs.

To hell with that.

I'm never going to check again.

At first, I was disappointed in how many people were reading. Then I decided that -- on a regular basis -- the numbers were actually pretty good. But then I wanted to keep those numbers.

So, I'm done with that.

Back to writing whatever I damn well please.

One thing, though, was that it became pretty clear to me that most of the readers of the blog were probably not actual regular customers. A few.

Which is somewhat liberating.

So far I've been able to mostly be completely candid about sales because, well, sales have been good. Even the drop off in sales that started last August hasn't really been that much of a concern because I've handled it well, even turning a better profit.

But what happens if it really gets bad? Can I continue to be honest?

So far, I've learned never to slam customers, especially kids. Never to talk about other businesses in town by name. Never to give out sales numbers too specifically.

I don't think anyone expects me to.

But, unlike most everyone else, I'm not sure it really matters. I just don't think enough people are reading, or taking it seriously enough to take umbrage. I've always had a kind of odd feeling about this. I just don't think what you say matters all that much. Or much less than most people do. Maybe I've just experimented enough at the store with different sales techniques to realize that what you say matter much less than you think it does. Or how you say it. Or how often.

Which flies in the face of most conventional wisdom. You know, words sharper than a sword, sort of thing.

It's all self expression. Entertainment.

I suppose there are moments, when choice words can have an effect. Not sure when a blog can fill that moment, though. It would have to be a lucky strike.