AutismTown.org - A virtual community for those who support autism research.

AutismTown is a joint effort backed by talkAutism and Cure Autism Now, two organizations dedicated to researching cures for autism. The site is marketed as an online support community for those who have been affected by the disease. In order to raise funds for these organizations, the site sells its web space, a total of 1 million pixels, for $1.00 each, in square blocks of 100. Three-fourths of the proceeds go to Cure Autism now, and the rest go to maintaining the web site. So far they´ve sold 154,900 of their pixels. The site also provides easy ways to import their link to your site if you want to help spread the word.

“AutismTown is a Web-based joint initiative by Cure Autism Now (CAN) and talkAutism. Together, CAN and talkAutism created and developed this virtual gathering place for the autism community.

These two organizations are front-runners in autism research and treatment, so their site is sure to be well-trafficked. The money shouldn´t be easy to get since people are often quicker to go into their pockets if it´s for a good cause. Advertisers for pharmaceuticals or health-care are going to find value in the site as a liaison between them and their potential customers.

What does the site offer to people who donate besides presumably conducting research on their behalves? AutismTown needs to provide more incentive to get people to donate, especially considering that these are people dealing with medical costs already. They should reward donors with access to online medical advice or some feature of the site that is not accessible to everyone.