Online health community hit by downturn and makes decision to shut down
Online health community, Trusera has announced it will be closing its doors.
Launched in June of 2008, the health network was home to a unique userbase of people, “who have been there.” If a user was diagnosed with a disability, Trusera offered a place where they could find information from other users suffering from that same disability. Users could create profiles and share their health experiences through stories, photos and videos. The site took this information and notified users automatically via email when there was new matches based on their medical conditions.
Unfortunately, the site never grew enough to reach profitability. Trusera attracted tens of thousands of users per month giving free access to ad and sponsor supported content. The company had planned on making profits through customers seeking less expensive Online solutions for their health problems. In a Seatle Times article from January of 2009, CEO Keith Schorsch said the recession was actually helping Trusera, “A lot of people are going through health experiences that are shared by others…the economic downturn has provided a real opportunity for us to get more customers."
Turned out not to be the case as Trusera’s $2 million in angel funding finally dried up. In its official blog, the company explained, “These difficult economic times make it difficult to sustain even strong communities like ours.”
Trusera will be securing all the information on the site and closing to the public on May 27th. Schorsch hopes to reintroduce Trusera at a later date when he can find some funding. It’s listed some steps for users to take before closure:
* Copy or export your stories and journal entries. We know your stories and journals are valuable. Remember to take the time to export or copy your content so that you can retain it. We have created a feature to make it easy to do so. Click here to learn more.
* Reach out to your Friends on Trusera. If you would like to keep in touch with friends on Trusera, be sure to message them to see if they would like to stay in touch through other online communities, social networking sites, or email. If you have a personal blog, share that address with friends on Trusera.
