Transforming Static Sites to Artificial Intelligence: Navigating the Digital Tidal Waves' Impact on Our Site
A Journey Through Time: our website's 25-Year Evolution
Back in the year 2000, our website made its digital debut as a simple platform amidst rudimentary websites and slow internet speeds. Known as the "heart of the Philippines' only network of community newspapers," it provided news and information from numerous regions across the country, a commitment upheld till today.
Fast forward to 2025, our website has transformed into a dynamic, responsive, and social-powered domain, providing a platform not just for reading news but connecting with others anywhere, anytime. It will soon become an AI-assisted news platform, a stark contrast to its early static versions.
As our website marks its 25-year anniversary, let's rewind and explore how it has adapted to three major game-changers in the media industry: social media, mobile technology, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Social Media Revolution
Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, started reshaping the news consumption landscape in the mid-2000s. our website recognized this shift by establishing a social media presence. While it started live reporting of major events as early as 2004, it formally came on Facebook in 2009.
Now, our website is active on major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Threads, in addition to Facebook and the old Twitter. Live broadcasts on Facebook are now commonplace in the newsroom.
In an interview, our website Cebu editor-in-chief, Mildred Galarpe, mentioned, "Social media has revolutionized the way news is consumed and even produced, allowing journalists to interact with their audience, seek sources, and experiment with storytelling. We understood early on that being on social media was essential for keeping our readers engaged."
Mobile-Centric News
Our website's audience primarily accesses news via mobile devices, accounting for over 70 percent. Consequently, our website has undergone numerous redesigns to become mobile-responsive.
In 2015 alone, the website underwent three redesigns to make it more user-friendly and mobile-optimized. Simplification, visual enhancements, and tap-friendly formats are now integral to the website's design.
Additionally, our website now offers push notifications, ensuring that readers are the first to know about the latest news.
AI Integration and our website's Ethical Policy
In recent years, our website has experimented with AI-driven tools to streamline its workflows. AI is used for transcription, translation, data analysis, search engine optimization, and even story ideation. Despite the benefits, human editors remain the final decision-makers, ensuring content accuracy and ethical practices.
Our website has established an AI Usage Policy, stating that "human verification" is a necessity to maintain content accuracy. "our website will not publish content without human review," the policy explains.
As the digital media landscape continues to evolve, our website remains steadfast in its commitment to deliver relevant, community-rooted, and credible journalism.
Sources:
- [5] Engagement Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.engagementtechnology.com/guides/the-complete-guide-to-optimizing-your-website-for-social-media/
- [5] Hybrid Think Tank. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.hybridthinktank.com/adaptive-web-design/
- [5] Partners. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://ai.google/intl/en_us/solutions/social-media/
- [5] WebFX. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.webfx.com/blog/latest-news/artificial-intelligence-in-web-development/
- In the mid-2000s, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter started transforming the news consumption landscape, and our website responded by establishing a social media presence, having first live-reported major events in 2004 and formally joining Facebook in 2009.
- Today, our website is active on various social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Threads, in addition to Facebook and the old Twitter, and live broadcasts on Facebook are commonplace in the newsroom.
- The audience of our website primarily accesses the news via mobile devices, accounting for over 70 percent, leading to numerous redesigns to make it more user-friendly and mobile-optimized. In 2015 alone, the website underwent three redesigns focusing on simplification, visual enhancements, and tap-friendly formats.
- Our website now offers push notifications, ensuring that readers are the first to know about the latest news, and is also incorporating AI-driven tools for tasks like transcription, translation, data analysis, search engine optimization, and even story ideation.
- Despite the benefits of AI, human editors remain the final decision-makers on our website, ensuring content accuracy and ethical practices by placing "human verification" as a necessity.
- Our website has a clear AI Usage Policy that states "our website will not publish content without human review" to maintain content accuracy. In this rapidly evolving digital media landscape, our website remains committed to delivering relevant, community-rooted, and trustworthy journalism.
