About Filipino.ca

History. In early December 2000, Michael Bernardo, a network administrator, was experimenting with photos taken by his new Kodak digital camera. Around this time, he already had a little experience with web design and network administration. It was only natural that he made these pictures available online for his family and friends to see. After the holidays, on January 9, 2001, Filipino.ca was born served on a personal computer in Ajax, Ontario.

The small website featured photos taken from a recent family gathering, a friend's birthday, a child's baptism, and eventually, musical events. Soon, a message board was needed so that users could write feedback about the events. A publicly available forum powered the message board was added when members grew to about ten people.

A few months later, more events were being covered. Flyers were being handed out during coverage of these events to spread the word. Websites were linking back to Filipino.ca, and search engines started giving it a higher ranking over Filipino-related keywords. By the end of the summer of 2001, a small group of loyal members have solidified. Profile pages were created for each member with profile picture. The first hot topics started appearing getting more and more people involved.

By the spring of 2002, there were 500 members. A small group of Filipino.ca members in the Toronto area organized the first "Eye Ball" also known as an "E.B." where members get to meet in person. Filipino.ca had officially taken a life of its own. Many thanks to the members who organized and participated the first Filipino.ca picnic: Fulgoso, Mistisa, Pam, Dear Abby, Dharna28, and many more. Michael Bernardo was presented with a plaque in recognition of the creation and management of the website.

The first Filipino.ca Picnic May 19, 2002. How many can you name? Click here to see photos.

More coming soon...