As the biggest Samoan language influencer on the internet, William Fanene is living proof that social media can be a powerful tool for islanders to connect with their cultural roots. That might seem like a paradoxical concept. So often popular websites and apps nowadays are most impactful in pulling our eyes away from each other and down onto our screen-tapping thumbs.

Fanene has made it his mission to be the exception.

As a kid, he stayed tethered to Samoan culture through the people around him, but it wasn’t until he actively started learning the language that he discovered the depth of his cultural identity.

Stealthily avoiding the strange local mocking culture around trying to Samoan, Fanene spent years gathering resources and building his understanding of the language.

Coming from a military background steeped in bravado and strongly influenced by his half Black side, learning Samoan was like the missing piece of Fanene’s identity puzzle.  

Once his Samoan became polished enough to share with world, he decided to teach it through videos online.

He also used his platform as a vehicle for social change, even addressing long ingrained stereotypes within the language.

It soon became clear that Fanene wasn’t the only one disconnected from his language and other Samoans.

His videos resonated with such a wide audience he caught the attention of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, himself a prominent figure of Samoan descent.

Now, with even greater exposure, Fanene’s mission to empower others to embrace their cultural heritage and language is only growing more powerful.

Having launched a new website called ‘Pasifika Pages,’ Fanene is aiming to unify the efforts of all educators and creators in the Pasifika language space.

“The goal is to get people to engage with their language and their culture and their history,” Fanene said. “I was disengaged at one point, and the language is what brought me back. That’s what my mission is – to bring people back through the language.”

To learn more about his amazing story and the trials and tribulations of rising to social media fame as a language influencer, check out the full podcast here.

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