I just got done uploading a screenshot of my most-liked comment on the Dropbox link that Dan emailed me. I''m not going to share it here or even tell you what count it''s currently sitting at. This precaution is for the very remote chance that one of my competitors can use this information to get an edge over me. There''s still a few hours to go before the deadline, but I''ve already used up all three of my comments and there''s a very clear winner. A lot can change for a comment over a few hours on YouTube, but one thing I''ve learned is that the rate of likes only seems to go down with time, so I think I have a clear winner between the three comments I made.


    Am I happy with the count of my likes?


    I''m not sure to be honest. If you define happiness as reality minus expectations, then I would say it''s undefined for me since I didn''t have an expected target to begin with. There is a lot I don''t understand about how YouTube, or to speak more broadly like Pablo: the world, works. Who are these people who are making and liking comments? What are their goals, hopes, and dreams? Why do they do what they do? This test really accentuated my sonder, which I guess is a feeling which falls on the sorrow spectrum for me.


    Another reason to not be too happy is that the test was a little anxiety inducing for me. I had a lot of work in the office this week that I''m not going to bore you with, but it''s partially why I didn''t dedicate a lot of time to this challenge. However, for the past few days I felt anxious because I was confused whether to post a comment at the earliest to give it maximum time to garner likes or to do more research and wait for the right moment. We were told to embrace ambiguity, but my software engineer outlook is probably not a great fit for such open-ended tasks.


    Certain questions still remain unanswered. What were the initial 50 hours where we couldn''t post any comments about? Why couldn''t we post comments right away? Was there anything particular we could have done in those 50 hours that would have helped us? Could I have used some throwaway YouTube account to post comments and see how they did and then replicate the winning formula? I feel bad about not doing much in those 50 hours other than tallying the number of likes on comments of some trending videos. I also spent time writing the previous chapter since that was a far more enjoyable pursuit and I hoped that by ending it with a poll, I''d get some fresh ideas or clarity. As you''ve now come to expect of me, I barely got that chapter finished and published at the 50th-hour mark since I continue underestimating the time it will take for me to write things.


    My best guess for what those 50 hours were about is that they were waiting for another cohort to be done with their orientation session so that all of us could work on the assignment in the same time period. Maybe this next batch only had 25 hours to prepare? Maybe the ones before us had 75? What do you think? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Ah, speaking of opinions of my readers, I must confess that getting my first organic comment on the last chapter and a response to the poll was surprisingly exhilarating! Seeing the top trending YouTube videos in different geographies around the world is always pretty disappointing for me, so the comment from ertan45 really helped restore my faith in humankind. Who would have thought that a complete stranger would go to the trouble of reading all this and then even responding and helping me out? I did end up using the poll result, but I''ll only reveal later whether that is the strategy that worked out.


    The high from that comment motivated me to do a better job of promoting myself on this platform. I took some time to introduce myself in the forums and promote this story. Hope some of you reading this right now saw those messages and decided to give it a try. Somebody on the forums even suggested alternate platforms that might boost readership, but I don''t want to mess with the A/B test that Dan mentioned by cross-posting things all over the web. I''m more than happy to stick with this awesome platform and community, and who knows maybe one of my competitors is already using those other sites?


    One nagging thought that has plagued my mind these past few days is around the tragic and currently ongoing Los Angeles wildfires. I did some looking up on Google Maps, and the Eaton wildfire is suspiciously close to Temple City where Josie mentioned that a plane crashed on Monday morning. Obviously, the crashed Cessna wasn''t the source of the fire, but I can''t help but think if maybe there''s a larger conspiracy behind this? It''s a scary thought that I might be associating myself with the people who could be responsible for something like this. I hope I''m just being paranoid since there''s nothing concrete linking the two events other than proximity and maybe that firefighters had also responded to the plane crash. Also, while researching this I read another news that there was an electrical fire in Temple City on 2nd January as well.


    Is this what life is going to be like going forward? Will I second guess everything happening in the world, imagining that there''s somebody pulling the strings from the shadow, somebody who I''m helping unknowingly? I''m hoping I''ll get more answers if I make it to the next session. There''s also a concern on whether Josie is impacted by these wildfires since she almost certainly lives in Los Angeles. If both of us manage to clear this test, then maybe I''ll be able to ask her in the next session, assuming they''ll let us talk before the session starts like they did last time.


    Here''s hoping that I manage to clear this test. I would hate it if this is the end of my journey here, and I think you won''t like it either. As it is, you are going out on a limb and reading something that has no predictable pattern of when the next installment will drop-in and what it''ll be about. I remember reading that successful stories here tend to have a regular release pattern, but I can''t offer that since I don''t know when and what the next major thing will be. I''ll still try to attempt to engage you with similar nervous ramblings. I will also let you all know whether I get an invite for the next session by posting an update here and adding a comment below.