19 Years of GoutPal

19 years isn't quite a decades' landmark. But I think it's still quite an achievement. And it marks the start of a new chapter for GoutPal. As I start to move content from Web2 to Web3

Brief History of GoutPal

I was first diagnosed with gout in 1995. Then I spent several years researching the disease to try to understand why I suffered. And what I should do to alleviate my painful symptoms.

At the same time, I became interested in publishing websites. So I soon realised that I could provide better gout explanations than most of the self-serving rubbish that I found myself reading.

In January 2005, I launched GoutPal.com using a proprietary website system. But I soon became frustrated with cumbersome update procedures. So I switched to the WordPress platform. Which allowed me to add a forum that became very popular.

However, forums are very demanding to administer and earn very little from advertising or commissions. So I tried to find alternatives.

I thought of a system that would pay people to make forum contributions. In an effort to encourage better posting standards. But I could not find a suitable platform. So I decided to drop forums completely and move my WordPress installation to a static site.

Then I found Hive.

Paid2Heal

I couldn't believe how Hive fit almost perfectly with the ideas I had earlier for paying contributors. All at once, I dreamed of a Paid2Heal approach for GoutPal. By using Hive to pay any gout sufferer seeking help. Maybe, I thought, I can build a community where sufferers, carers, and suppliers work together to develop better gout care packages.

But why is that only almost perfect.

Hive certainly covers the "forum" side of GoutPal. Because questions are often repeated as sufferers want to ask for help in their own way. But most advertising income is derived from the evergreen articles that describe causes, symptoms, and treatments. So rewriting those every week is out of the question.

Web3 GoutPal

Now, I've discovered that getting paid for evergreen content is possible on Hive. In fact, I've coined the term "Hive Afterweek" to describe the publishing phase beyond the 7-day Hive reward period.

So stay tuned for more about:

• GoutPal on Web3
• Hive Afterweek
• Hive Evergreen Content Rewards