I decided to take a hiatus because two weeks ago my blog stats went crazy. I don’t know why it went viral in a particular country in Europe and it freaked me out. I hope the craziness has died down.

My kids are still not home because they’re extending their stay at their dad’s hometown. Dad delayed their departure. 🙄

So here I am, spending quiet mornings, midday, and evenings. It is unnerving though. I only have cats to talk to if I’m not talking to avatars of my colleagues online.

I had a change of pace today as I attended an annual general meeting and chased people again. I also had coffee with a friend, who asked for career advice…as if I know anything about careers. 😏

It was quite a productive day for me.

During lunch, fellow journos (senior journos) are sad that another institution is crumbling. Philippine Daily Inquirer, the broadsheet, is closing down.

Mass media is in a flux. Algorithms now rule and your ability to make money out of your content is now out of whack. Without steady subscription, you can’t survive. You have to have a way to make your viewers/readers stick.

When I was still with my old TV network, I learned that the way media outlets not behind a paywall get the eyeballs (ergo advertising money) is to have 1) speed, 2) click-bait headlines, 3) exclusivity.

Nowadays, those things no longer matter. Algorithm is the king. You are now a slave to the algorithm.