Writing any random topic is easy but the question is if the readers will like it or not. In the age of eCommerce, online marketing, and even SEO (search engine optimization) wherein a good content can be monetized, it is important to know what kind of topic we want to present to our readers in the first place.
The internet is a very useful tool in researching for the trending topic. If you are a personal blogger and want to gain more views, check what is trending and who are your intended readers. Take note that not all trending topics equate to viewership so you need to discern which topic to choose from.
Another way is to check the trending topics on Twitter and create content out of it. However, if your blog is not yet established, this trick might not help because not all Twitter users are blog searchers or readers.
Knowing the demographics of your blog can help in finding a good topic to write about. If you have a wide viewership, you can research about a trending topic in the country or location where your readers are based.
The quickest way to research a topic for your content is to check the trending topics of the top bloggers or influencers and create your own content or interpretation. The psychology of this is because people are hungry for more information about something that they are curious or amused about.
If you are a movie fanatic, you can write a review about the latest blockbuster movie. Movie fans take delight in finding a good movie review about their idols. On the other hand, those who are unsure whether they want to watch the movie will need the review to convince themselves.
To sum it all, if your blog does not have a large following yet, it is important that organic searching leads them to your site. Of course, a good topic is the pre-requisite to achieve that goal.
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Let’s talk about retrenchment as it is a very timely topic.
Left and right, we hear about companies letting go of their people. The tourism industry was greatly affected and so companies in the aviation business started laying-off their people as early as March. Tourist destinations were closed and the usually crowded places like Baguio imposed a very strict lockdown protocol that even their locally stranded individuals (LSI) had a hard time returning home. And just when we were getting used to the Airbnb services, these too were directly hit by the pandemic.
What could be one of any organization’s challenging decisions than letting go of their GOOD employees?Certainly, we’re talking about those employees who are performers; those who would walk an extra mile just to get the job done; those employees whose reliability cannot be questioned; those who would sacrifice a little comfort just to deliver; those who are respectful and team-players; those who are smart and do not need much supervision; those who have no attendance or tardiness problem because they respect everyone’s time. In short, who in their right minds and fair hearts would let go of such employees?
We all want to have good employees on our team. And the worst part of this Covid-19 crisis is the decision to let go of the good ones. Thus, it is forgivable if some companies find it hard to tell the employment status of their good employees. Maybe they’re avoiding the drama. Perhaps they’re thinking more than thrice if they can still reverse the management’s decision. Possibly, they just want their good employees to take the cue and leave.
But, should management keep silent on their manpower plans and just wait for the right time to announce the lay-off? Surprisingly, the answer must be YES.
Yes, the management should avoid any pre-mature press release until the following are final:
- retrenchment package
- reorganization
- turnover plan
Under Article 298 of the Labor Code, companies are allowed to scale down its operations in order to save themselves from further losses. Retrenched employees are given either a full-month salary or a half-month salary x 15 days x years in service—whichever is higher. Please take note that this is just a basic computation as packages differ from company to company.
The company must ready the reorganization plan because letting go of people means the transfer of tasks to the employees that will be left behind. On the other hand, some companies assess their workforce and redesign the table of organization to simplify the roles and tasks. The challenging part of the reorganization is assigning leaders who are capable of unifying their members to achieve the company’s new goals. Don’t forget to consider the concerns of those employees who would be left behind because there could be undocumented tasks that they are doing that could add to their workload. In short, re-organized tasks must be written because new KPIs and deliverables are expected to emerge from these changes.
Once the reorganization plan is done, it’s now time to talk to the employees that would be retrenched to prepare them for the turnover activity. Retrenchment letter must be sent to the concerned employees by mail or through e-mail. Definitely, it pays to be transparent and empathetic, too by informing them ahead of these notifications about their employment status. Effective communication and honesty are important when telling people about their work termination because if not, the turnover plan will not be successful.
Bosses can also offer to recommend the retrenched employees to other companies who might need their services. It is called an outplacement program. It creates a friendly exit between the bosses and the employees instead of bad memories. Who knows, you’ll end up working in the same company someday. Even luckier, what if your former staff becomes your boss or CEO years later? Nothing is impossible, right?
When it seems that there is no hope, remember that good employees never run out of jobs; whenever, wherever.
We are not just talking about employment opportunities here but other activities that are income-generators, as well. There’s a story about a flight attendant who used her cooking and baking skills to sell foods while on lockdown. I personally know of retrenched employees who put up a sari-sari store, a motor shop and also those who turned turned pottery and plant hobbies into business. The shift to homebased jobs or online jobs through the freelancing sites also give people an opportunity to earn while taking care of the household. It takes a lot of courage to start over again in these difficult times. I call it a leap of faith.
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Happy Father’s Day! Some dads are tough.
Some dads are gentle.
Some dads are loud.
Some dads are timid.
Some dads are rich.
Some dads are poor.
Some dads are still with us.
Some dads are gone for good.
Wherever, whenever, greet your dad on this special day.
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Malawak na tanawin
Bundok at bukirin
Dagat sa silangan
Kaygandang pagmasdanTuyong pilapil tuwing tag-araw
Maputik na daanan ng kalabaw
Pagtitipon tuwing gabi
Sayawan ng ginoo’t binibini
Maagang araw ng paggawa
Pananim at kabuhayan ang nakataya
Amoy ng kape at agahan
Saganang pagkain, walang ubusan
Tagay ng alak kinagabihan
Isang pasada bago magkatulugan
Paghahanda sa araw na susunod
Pamatid ng katawang pagod
Buhay nayon ay payak lang
Walang gaanong pagkakaabalahan
Kaya lahat nagkakakilala
Kahit akong isang hamak na bisita -
“He was right about one thing. I don’t know how to quit.” Are you familiar with that dialogue? That is Judy Hopps, the bunny, from Zootopia. In case you are not familiar, Judy is a little bunny who dreams to be a police officer despite the resistance of her parents who wanted her to be a carrot farmer. Not that there is something wrong with being a carrot farmer but Judy feels that she is destined for another profession- being a police officer. She encounters challenges along the way like trying hard to fit in in the academy full of larger animals and proving to her boss that she can make it. Her biggest challenge is arresting the cunning Nick Wilde, a streetsmart fox who later becomes her pal and partner.
- Dream big- it doesn’t matter if the dream is impossible to achieve. When you dream big, you try to learn new things that will help you achieve it. You try to meet people who can be your mentor. You try to make things happen because you want to hit your target. Even if your big dream does not come true, you are still left with the learnings and lessons that you can use for your next dreams
- Upgrade your skills- some jobs become obsolete so workers lose their source of livelihood. With the continuous upgrade in technology, automation and robotics will become a trend in the next years to come. If you can’t upgrade your skills, you need to have other skills to offer.
- Do not be complacent- when you are working in a stable company, surrounded by nice people, and receiving a good salary, do not assume that this will last forever. When calamity strikes, even the richest company is prone to closure. People move around so your next teammate may not be as nice as the one who left. Save and invest a portion of your salary so that when a time like the pandemic comes, you and your family will survive.
- Check your connections- evaluate the people that you are hanging out with if they add value to your life. Review if you have the same principles and interests. Do they cheer you up or do they put you down? Do they support your endeavors or do they laugh at your dreams? Connect with people who can give you the right advice should you need it in the future. Connect with people who can mentor you into something that you want to become. Connect with people that mutually share your passion.
- Learn from your experience- there will be times of plenty and times of scarcity. Remember what went right when you accomplished something and remember what went wrong for your failed endeavors. Learn to adapt to different seasons.
- Do not get intimidated- David beat Goliath because he was confident that he could do it. Believe that you can do something because nobody will believe in you unless you trust yourself that you can make it.
- Always have a back-up plan- when planning, consider three possible scenarios: best case, normal case, and worst case. This will allow you some flexibility in terms of resources and time. Strategize well.
- Practice documentation- create a list of the things that you want to accomplish in a dashboard format so that you can visualize how near or far you are to your target.
- Be cautious of people that you deal with- some people appear to be helping you but are trying to put you down. Be kind but be a little skeptical.
- Follow your instinct- if something is not right, it probably is not right. If the deal is too good to be true, it probably is.
There’s a little or a lot of Judy Hopps in us; dreaming big and trying to be the best person but circumstances will not allow. How do we overcome our fears and insecurities the way Judy did it?
After reading this, try to list down the dreams that you have accomplished vs the dreams that you have yet to accomplish. You might be surprised to know that most of your dreams have been fulfilled. If this is not the case, then consider today as the day that you decided to go after your dreams.
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Mainit na topic ngayon ang class opening sa August 24, 2020. Ito ay sa kabila ng banta ng covid-19. Dahil dito, inihahanda na ng mga paaralan ang online class para sa mga mag-aaral. Ang tanong, ready ka na ba sa online class? Pero bago mo sagutin yan, ipaliwanag muna natin kung ano nga ba ang online class.
Sa regular class, ang mga mag-aaral ay inaasahang pumasok sa paaralan para turuan ng mga guro. Dahil sa kakulangan ng pasilidad, kahit ang mga pribadong paaralan ay napipilitang hatiin ang bilang ng mga mag-aaral kaya mayroong pumapasok ng pang-umaga at meron ding panghapon. May mga paaralang dikit-dikit ang upuan para mapagkasya ang mga bata. Bago nangyari ang covid-19 na ito, ang tanging magagawa ng magulang para hindi makahawa ang anak nilang sinisipon o inuubo ay ang huwag ng papasukin muna. Pero may mga magulang at bata na sadyang competitive at talaga namang papasok pa din kahit masama ang pakiramdam huwag lang mapag-iwanan sa lessons. Dahil sa mga limitasyong ito at dahil na din sa hindi pa napupuksa ang pandemya, dalawang bagay ang mainit na pinagdedebatehan ngayon ng mga magulang: online class ba o ipagpaliban ang pasukan hanggang hindi pa available ang vaccine.
Taliwas sa regular class, ang online class ay maaring mahati sa dalawang kategorya ayon sa aking mga nababasa at karanasan na din:
1. 100% Online Class– sa 100% online class, tuloy lang ang buhay. Maglo-log in ang mga bata sa online class website para ma-monitor pa din ang attendance. Dahil online na, kaya nang guro na pagsabay-sabayin ang klase nya; wala ng pang-umaga at wala ng panghapon. Ang graded recitation ay posibleng gawin sa Google Meet kung hindi kaya ng Zoom. Mainam ang ganitong klase ng online class sa mga batang 10 taon gulang pataas dahil hindi na sila intimidated sa teknolohiya kumpara sa mga mas maliliit na bata. Maganda ang set up ng 100% online class kung ang bata ay may kanya-kanyang laptop dahil interactive ang klase. Maganda ang set up na ito kung sapat ang luwag ng bahay ng mga bata para hindi maabala ang bawat isa. At maganda sana ito kung ang internet speed ng bata ay 5Mbps man lang. Ang tanong, ready ka na ba sa ganitong set up?
2. Home Schooling Set Up– online education pa din ito pero very minimal ang interface sa mga teacher; sabihin na nating nasa 25% lang. Sa home schooling set up, may mga guro pa din kada subject pero ang lessons ay ida-download sa online schooling website. Sa home schooling set up, hindi kinakailangan lagi ng internet. Basta may printer ka, ipi-print mo lang ang lessons sabay paturo sa magulang o kung kaya nyo, sa tutor. Ang kagandahan ng home schooling set up, flexible ang oras basta sa loob ng isang linggo, naipasa mo na ang kinakailangang lessons. Ang problema dito ay kung 5 ang anak mo na may 8 subject. Pagtyatyagaan mong aralin ang 40 subjects para sa kanila. Ang mas masakit nito para sa bata ay kung walang tyaga o walang oras ang mga magulang na turuan sila. Ready ka na ba sa home schooling set up?
Elementarya pa lang yang sinasabi ko dahil na din sa may mga anak akong nasa elementarya pa lang. Ibang kaso kapag nasa mataas na paaralan na (high school) at kolehiyo. Halimbawa, sa Home Economics (meron pa ba nun?) na subject, paano masasabi ni Ma’am at Sir na pasado ang pananahi ko o pagkakarpintero kung hindi naman nya aktwal na nakita? Paano masasabi ni Sir sa isang dentistry student na tama ang pagkakabunot nya ng ngipin?
Sa madaling salita, hindi lahat ng subjects ay pwede o kayang pag-aralan sa online lang. So, anong mga subjects ang ire-retain at ano ang hindi muna ipapakuha? Hindi ba dapat sa ngayon ay napag-uusapan na kung ano ang magiging guideline sa August 24 na pasukan? Mababawasan ba ang bayarin o baka hindi na maningil ng miscellaneous fee? Ano ang mangyayari sa mga guro sakaling hindi matuloy ang pasukan?
Talagang mabangis ang covid-19. Hindi lamang kabuhayan ang inabala kung hindi pati pangarap ng ating mga kabataan.
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Facial wash has become a staple in today’s beauty routine. During the 90’s, we were happy with using soap and the introduction of facial wash in the early 2000 was a struggle at the beginning. Marketing experts swayed the public’s opinion that a dot size of facial wash could effectively clean and remove excess oil; something that some bath soap could do but with drying effects. To date, you can choose from a variety of facial wash from anti-acne (with tea tree oil, lemon, calamansi,strawberry) to hydrating (with aloe-vera, cucumber) to deep-cleansing (with activated charcoal, coffee,apricot beads) to anti-ageing (ginseng, pomegranate).
In the early 2000, the leader in the local facial wash industry was Ponds. Today, you can choose from Apricot Scrub, Eskinol Facial Wash, Maxipeel, Himalayas, 3M Clinic, Clean and Clear, Nivea, Belo and the list goes on. The more products, the better for the consumers to choose from. I have tried all of them and my top favorites are Himalayas, 3M Clinic and Ponds. Performance-wise, they are all good, but I tend to buy Himalayas and Ponds over 3M Clinic because of one crucial factor: the bottle cap design.
Facial wash design review The bottle cap design is a crucial factor in choosing for a facial wash because busy people tend to look for time saving products. As an Industrial Engineer who’s into motion and time study and work station improvement, I tend to be OCD when it comes to using facial wash with resealable design. First, you need to remember where you placed the cap when you use the facial wash. It tends to roll and get lost, too. It’s the reason why a flip up design gives a better advantage over the resealable because it keeps the cap intact and the facial wash neat.
I wish to propose that all resealable toiletries like facial wash, shampoo, toothpaste and hair conditioner shift to flip up design. What are your thoughts on it?
The World of Second Chances 