When Influence Became Harder to Measure
Years ago, when we organized the DigitalFilipino Web Awards , the challenge of identifying excellence online felt far more straightforward. We were not judging personalities. We were assessing web properties . Using platforms such as Alexa, SEMrush, and other third-party tools , we examined traffic, visibility, consistency, and discoverability across clearly defined categories. The methodology was not perfect, but it was externally observable and explainable . The signals were visible. The criteria could be articulated. That experience shaped how I think about influence to this day. Why Measuring Websites Was Easier Than Measuring People Websites behave in predictable ways. They leave data trails. They aggregate intent. They can be evaluated without asking the owner to nominate themselves. When the conversation shifted from top websites to top individuals , things became more complicated. What changed over time was not the intention to recognize excellence, but the environme...
