Monday, September 1, 2008

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.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This one is worth watching very closely, as Sir BV has lots of unsold crap-shacks in Bend.

Note rather than slow and uncertain civil-court that Sir BV, had a sour grapes person arrested in a $tarBucks. This is totally Bend, as Lake Oswego cops and Bend are siamese twins.

****

A Beaverton man fired from his job with Buena Vista Custom Homes Inc. has been arrested and accused of trying to extort money from the company.
Samuel Joseph Portesi, 34, was arrested Wednesday by Lake Oswego police. He was booked into the Clackamas County Jail on accusations of theft by extortion, a Class B felony, and menacing, a Class A misdemeanor.
Portesi was released later Wednesday, after posting $3,250 bond against bail of $32,500.
He is scheduled to be arraigned in Clackamas County Circuit Court on Sept. 25.
Mike Higgins, spokesman for the Lake Oswego-based Buena Vista, said Portesi worked for the company as a construction site superintendent from 2002 until recently, when he was fired.
Higgins said Portesi then began making false statements about the company to subcontractors, customers and the public, in an apparent attempt to tarnish the company's name. He said Portesi then told company officials he would stop only if they paid him.
Buena Vista officials then contacted Lake Oswego police, said Lt. Dale Jorgensen, police spokesman.
Police arrested Portesi without incident at a Beaverton Starbucks .
The exact nature of the statements, or how much money he sought, was not available.
A statement by Buena Vista president Roger Pollock described Portesi's statements as "slanderous and erroneous," saying they triggered "hysteria."
Buena Vista has suffered in the recent housing-market downturns and credit crunch. A bank has started foreclosure on 15 of the company's homes, but Pollock says the company is not going into bankruptcy.

Bewert said...

RE: Portesi case in Lake Oswego

In trying to find out some more facts, I found their police blotter, which is fucking hilarious.

Some of the entries:

8/23/08 12:22 a.m. Two beers were stolen from a store on Pilkington Road by a man who fled the scene on a skateboard.

8/18/08 8:39 a.m. A garbage Dumpster overflowed on Foothills Drive.

8/19/08 9:15 p.m. A brawl on Ladd Street turned out to be a fight between three hostile pre-teens. Police stood by while parents rushed to the scene.

8/20/08 5:02 p.m. A driver jumped out of his car at a red light on Bangy Road, then spit in the face of another motorist.

8/20/08 5:26 p.m. A woman who tried to surprise her boyfriend instead found him with another girl. Police were called when a fight broke out on Wembley Park Road.

8/21/08 4:17 p.m. One driver threatened another with a gun after a disagreement in a roundabout on Carman Drive.

8/23/08 12:56 a.m. Someone ran into the bushes on Oak Street.

8/23/08 1:16 a.m. A frustrated homeowner called police on an unstoppable doorbell-ringer, only to discover that the doorbell was defective.

8/24/08 2:47 p.m. People suspected of doing drugs in a car told police they were just eating and thinking at the Mormon Temple on Kruse Oaks Boulevard.

8/24/08 8:41 p.m. Loud noises on Del Prado Street turned out to be a homeowner watching the Olympics.

8/21/08 4:44 p.m. A woman entered the Lake View Village parking garage through the exit.

8/20/08 5:26 p.m. A woman who tried to surprise her boyfriend instead found him with another girl. Police were called when a fight broke out on Wembley Park Road.

8/20/08 6:03 p.m. A man who lost his car called police to see if they had it. They did not.

More: http://www.lakeoswegoreview.com/news/story.php?story_id=121987576964063500

I wonder if they have mugshots?

Bewert said...

"It's fun to go to work everyday knowing that you are building someone's dream home"
-Sam Portesi
Buena Vista Custom Homes Construction Superintendent

See http://www.buenavistahomes.com/Company/Jobs.php?node=001/003

tim said...

Did your sitemeter numbers come up after you stopped checking them?

Duncan McGeary said...

"Did your sitemeter numbers come up after you stopped checking them?"

I'm sure they did, in a Shrodinger's Cat sort of way.