Milestone Series, Part 1: BakitWhy.com's First Steps

Get the scoop behind BakitWhy.com with the Milestones Series

Milestone Series, Part 1: BakitWhy.com's First Steps

Posted by: kaywan 2 years ago

August 6, 2010 marks a special day for BakitWhy.com. After more than two years of work (and a bit of pocket change) by an all-volunteer nationwide team, BakitWhy.com will be reborn into its 3rd version. But as Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal, states in the National Saying: "He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination." In the next two weeks, we're sharing the ten biggest Milestones that turned BakitWhy.com from a school project to a living part of the overall Pilipino American community.

First up: Why exactly does BakitWhy.com exist in the first place?

The Internet isn't something new to the Pilipino American community. As one of the strongest groups of Internet users, Pilipino Americans have been highly active across a wide variety of social networks, blogs, and online communities. Pil-Ams have been innovators in online technology (programmers, developers, etc.), online design (graphic artists, layout designers, etc.), and online media (YouTube, blogs, etc.). But -- has the Internet been able to connect Pil-Ams in the same way Pil-Ams connected the Internet?

In 2007, BakitWhy.com's founder and former director Jeremiah Abraham joined the first ever class of the University of Southern California's Annenberg Program on Online Communities. This specialization of Master's of Communication Management discipline specifically focused on the intersection of community and the Internet. This program tasked Jeremiah with what ultimately became his Master's project - to research and build an online community in a matter of three months.

Jeremiah knew there was a lack of connection within the diverse Pilipino American community even before entering the program. Sure, major media outlets targeted Pilipinos in general, but Pilipino Americans could be considered a different demographic. The nearly 5-million Pilipinos in the U.S. span a very large range of generations, interests, and geographical locations. In a sense, Pilipino Americans seemed more a collection of "lifestyles" than a single, neatly labeled group. That revelation became the catch. The then-unnamed BakitWhy.com would collect and share these lifestyles with the world. Not as only a blog. Not as a Facebook-like social network. But as a true community of Pilipino American lifestyles.

The name "BakitWhy.com" itself was one of the toughest parts of the entire project. Jeremiah wanted something that was distinctive, and one that portrayed the Pilipino American community without the traditional integration of "Filipino," "Pilipino," "Pinoy," or anything related. After several brainstorming sessions with friends, current Media Coordinator Justin Madriaga mentioned the phrase "bakit why?" in passing. Little did they know that that humorous Pilipino American phrase would become the core of the site's branding - representing the duality of identity that many Pilipino Americans face ("bakit" of course means "why" in Filipino).

On April 8, 2008, after several months of research, BakitWhy.com formally opened its virtual doors to the general public. What came next was far beyond initial expectations...

To be Continued in Milestone 2...