How KMJS became a social media sensation, according to Jessica Soho

Whenever something goes viral online, Jessica Soho’s name is almost always mentioned thereafter.

While the hashtag #KMJS has become prevalent among netizens calling the attention of her show, “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” towards stories that resonate with many people, others prefer using it as a verb. As in: I-KMJS na 'yan.

KMJS has soared in popularity that it now has more than 22 million followers on Facebook alone.

In the pilot episode of “The Howie Severino Podcast,” the award-winning broadcast journalist shared the secret to KMJS’ success, giving credit to the millennial staff of the show.

“This is old me working with the young staff and they're teaching me stuff,” she said. “I'm so grateful to them because I'm relevant, even among the younger audiences.”

Jessica said she's learned a lot from millennials, especially in terms of getting a pulse for topics that attract the younger generation.

She got introduced to the K-pop phenomenon, for example, when her staff told her about Korean artist Psy, who rose to global stardom with his song “Oppa Gangnam Style.”

Thanks to her staff, she also got hooked on Korean dramas even before Netflix made them accessible to worldwide audience.

"I taught them certain skills set in the past but topics wise for KMJS, a lot of the stories we do now, they generate [them]," she said. "All of these viral and trending stories that we do in KMJS, it's thanks to my wonderful and amazing team."

Despite the online popularity of KMJS, however, Jessica said she is not really a “social media person.”

“I'm not a native as you guys might probably call yourselves,” she said. “I don't have personal social media accounts. I tried to keep it professional.”

“It's something that I have to figure out for myself and I have to ask myself repeatedly if I want to you know, put myself out there personally or on a very personal basis.”

With many journalists now using social media in their work, Jessica acknowledged the conflict between the professional and the personal on social media platforms.

Asked for her thoughts on the matter, however, she admitted that she does not have the answers.

“I don't know what is the right thing to do about this situation [because] the world is changed,” she said.

“I think borders and boundaries are still important. I still believe in the balancing act of things,” she said.

—MGP, GMA News