Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Pins & Needles Here: South by Southwest Picks Trusera as Award Finalist


Woohoo! Fab clients and inspiring friends Trusera, the nationally recognized online health network where people find and share experiences and insights with others "who've been there", has been tapped by SXSW as a finalist in the Best Community award. (Happy dance.)

The SXSW Web Awards honor sites new or relaunched this year and recognizes sites that have “quickly developed an extraordinarily active multi-user community and an exceptional following of users who assist with content development.” The winner will be announced in Austin at the SXSW Interactive Web Awards March 15.

As a Web Award finalist, Trusera's also up for the much-coveted People’s Choice Award. People’s Choice Award voting ends March 6. (Ahem.. vote now.)

"We’re thrilled to be honored as a finalist," says Keith Schorsch, Trusera Founder and CEO , former Amazon executive, and all-around smart and inspiring guy. “To receive such industry recognition in our first year of business is tremendous. It is a real tribute to our engaged and committed community, whose sharing improves the lives of others.”

The SXSW Awards have grown from a tiny festival in 1987 to a prestigious, trend-setting event celebrating music, film and the web. Today, SXSW is broadly acknowledged as a forum that reflects and showcases cultural and media trends while also creating them. According to SXSW, “the web awards celebrate the best minds and the brightest personalities of emerging technology.”

Schorsch’s story and the birth of Trusera was told last month in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. (Thank you Cecelia!) Additionally, the company was recently selected as a top Health 2.0 site and Innovator by BusinessWeek, and described by the New York Times as providing “Facebook-like social connectivity for patients, along with the ability to share their stories.” Trusera boasts visitors from 119 countries connecting on a breadth of topics from a woman battling Stage IV Breast Cancer to a parent of a child with Asperger’s.

About Trusera
Seattle-based Trusera launched in the summer of 2008. The company vision is inspired by Keith’s own struggle with Lyme disease. After meeting with eleven doctors, it was one phone call from a friend that finally led to his diagnosis and saved his life. The company is made up of experienced technology pioneers who share a passion for helping consumers take control of their health. Trusera is backed by a group of notable angel investors with executive-level experience at companies like Kaiser-Group Health, Expedia, Amazon and Microsoft.

No comments: