Guy Charles Emeran likes to get hit...when it comes to his Web site, sakapfet.com, that is. With 300,000 hits a day, Emeran's cyber-highway to Haiti is a bona-fide success. The 31-year-old Haitian says, "The idea behind Sakapfet.com came up because when we were kids, our mother always made us appreciate art and we traveled to beautiful parts of Haiti. Now, when we go back for vacations, we like to take pictures." When Emeran's brother, Michael wanted to share his picturesque photographs, Guy says, "We were both like, 'We should make a site where people can see nice pictures of Haiti.'"
In 1999, Guy and Michael shared their images online through their Web address, Sakapfet.com . The Haitian word sakapfet literally translates to "what's going on?" and perfectly fit the Web site's content of Haitian images. But what commenced as a means to share their country's innate beauty, grew into something much bigger Emeran says, "From the posted photographs, we added a chat room, events and a message board. People started posting 1,000 messages a day!" He attributes the site's success to, "Word of mouth. It was the first Haitian site with a chat room and message board that was user friendly."
Much to Emeran's surprise, the cyber community embraced the Haitian hub. Fresh features such as the news, sports, e-mail, shopping and events were added to the home page. And live events such as Haiti's Carnival and Miami's Haitian Compas Festivals are webcasted on the site. "Last year, 30,000 people watched Carnival on our site," Mia Lopez, the site's journalist and Public Relations Director, who is half Haitian and half Cuban, says "Initially, it was a way of staying in touch with our families in Haiti. Now that we all have kids, it's a way for future generations to stay connected to their past and the present. We're all united by the love for our country." Adds Sales Director, Alain Kebreau "If an advertiser wishes to reach the Haitian community in New York, Miami, Montreal or anywhere in he world, Sakapfet.com is the way to go." Clearly, the English-and-French written Web address has become the Web's premiere Haitian portal. The cultural site still remains a labor of love for the Emeran duo. The brothers manage their own South Florida-based shipping business but have the Web site to thank for many things - among them, love. Emeran says, "My brother met his wife on Sakapfet.com . They started chatting and that was it. And not only him, you wouldn't believe how many people got married from the site!"
Mingle With the Sakapfet.com Crowd! Sakapfet.com hosts an annual
|
|
|
