When you think about it, the internet and all that is shared on it is powerful.
Mainstream media now has competition with alternative news sites, as do governments.
People voice their opinions or share what they believe to be fact, whether it be in comments, on social networking sites, or in blog posts.
Anyone can be a broadcaster of sorts.
Today’s Lesson
The article titled, Secret Media War of 2012 states, in part,
Throughout the heyday of print media and radio and recently, even cable news, the job of the press has been to manipulate and control public opinion as well as voting blocks. The elites bought and controlled most media outlets and developed and promoted a controlled political opposition, on both the left and the right, that allowed them to set the parameters for discussion and debate.
That’s true. News, as well as other information, used to be (and in some cases, still is) manipulated and does not necessarily consider what’s in the best interest for the public.
Before the internet, all we had were TV channels, radio and print media to depend on and what we believed was often based on limited information.
In fact, if those in powerful positions didn’t want us to know additional facts, they weren’t published.
No one was the wiser.
Until today.
With the advent of blogs and social networking sites, the doors to information from all sources are now open and although at times it may feel like we’re being bombarded with too much data. we can pick and choose what to believe.
WE can make up our own mind, and not feel like we’re being brainwashed; not feel like we don’t have access to all of the facts.
Additionally, as bloggers, we have more information at our fingertips. More arguments to make. More ways to inform our readers.
And although we’re not technically journalists, we can broadcast newsworthy stories or share posts which can help others in unimaginable ways whether we have one reader or a million.
Today’s Assignment
Do you realize what you post can, and does have an impact on others?
Do you feel like a newscaster, or do you think what you publish is unimportant?
Care to share?
In an earlier lesson we discussed how asking questions at the end of a blog post can possibly help us to 
Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford and I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 
Every time I write a post about comments and how to receive more, it becomes a popular one. The most recent one, Five Ways To Increase Blog Comments, is no exception.
Comments are what makes a blog interactive and is why many people enter the blogging arena.
To be heard.
Today’s Lesson
When I commented on Betsy’s post Life Skills: You Don’t Have to Explain Certain Things I went back later to read her response. In a comment that followed, Betsy wrote, in part,
Her words reminded me how with blogging, as much as we love receiving comments, one of the reasons we may not not get any (or very few) is just that, our readers are just not that into what we’re posting.
Ouch! That’s a blow to the ego.
In fact, when we hear that, our first reaction might be “Then why do I bother to post?”
And in truth, that’s a good question to ask ourselves. “Why do we blog?”
If it’s only to receive validation or to PROVE our point(s), we could be setting ourselves up for disappointment.
Maybe, no one cares.
Or maybe, as Betsy eludes to in her post, our readers don’t feel the need to explain themselves on the issues we’ve written about.
So that leads to the question, “Does a lack of comments mean our readers are just not that into us or what we’ve posted? Or might our visitors be reading but feeling they don’t need to explain their viewpoints to us?”
Since bloggers are usually the readers who comment most often, for today’s lesson, let’s take the commenting discussion further and share what inspires US to comment, or not.
Today’s Assignment
When you read a blog post, what inspires you to leave a comment?
Also, what hampers you from commenting?
Care to share?
*A book with a similar title, He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys
was popular several years back. (*affiliate link)