Gabi Bruckner

With any service or product giving out personal info is always a risk. BetterHelp is all about functionality, convenience, and a pleasant user experience. All users can use both mobile or desktop versions of this platform, depending on their preferences. Some people want to stay anonymous and ensure all their data and conversations with counselors are strictly confidential. As it states, you don’t have to tell your real name on BetterHelp. Even if you decide to go with your actual contact and personal data, you can be entirely sure that everything is highly protected and confidential. Suppose you are visiting the website as a California or European Union resident. In that case, your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act or GDPR are an addendum to this policy.
Categories of Information Collected:
– Visitor Data
– Onboarding Data
– Account Registration Data
– Transaction Data
– Login Data
– Counseling Session Data
– Customer Data
– Counselor Data
– Communications Data

It’s really interesting that you wrote on this because today I saw a lot of people on my timeline talking about the collaboration between Travis Scott and BetterHelp. One of the main concerns that people had was that BetterHelp was not a secure app and that they were actually selling customer data, which is very concerning. This is not the first time I heard something like this about BetterHelp and other digital therapy services. I do wonder about how serious these companies are about protecting customer information and whether they are using the data received from consumers for any other reasons. Though like Jordan said, it seems like you don’t have to share personal information if you don’t want to which is good.

Great post! I hear adds for BetterHelp all the time on Spotify podcasts, and have always been intrigued by the concept and curious about their company success. I find it very interesting that Dr. Kirby left the practice, and this definitely makes me wary of the application. I think a innovation like this could be highly beneficial for society, allowing mental health resources to be more accessible not only because it is on own personal device but also financially. There is a huge gap in mental healthcare in America and across the world and I think technology like this could make a huge difference, but there is clearly a lot of privacy concerns to be thoroughly thought out. I will be looking into this brand further, to gain a better understanding of their business plan! Thanks again for sharing!

HIPAA, GDPR and CPRA/CCPA all present some pretty stringent standards regarding how any company can use individual health data.

Is that enough though? Who watches the Watchmen?

I’m admittedly not as well versed on this specific venture as you all are, but I appreciate your perspective. The risk with any data collection is that the “enforcement” really only happens in the breach. It may effectively punish the venture, but it’s cold comfort for those who put their trust in the brand.

Why is it that there’s so much ambiguity here? I would expect the T&Cs in this space require even more clarity than most, and yet I assume they are even more opaque and lawyerly?

Thanks for sharing Gabi! Yes, I use Facebook Groups for lots of things similar to you. I have used it for housing, selling products, event ticket resales, the list goes on. I think the purpose for these groups is most definitely community but I think they have evolved far beyond this. Facebook groups now act as a resource, a source of comedy, on top of connecting us to groups of our past like Alamaters. I would be interested to hear the FB side of it – what was the initial purpose of the Facebook Group feature?

Also my favorite group is: Dog Spotting. Literally a group where people pose photos of dogs they see around their city, it brightens my day and I love to contribute the content.

GB!!!! Love, love, love this.

Couple reasons why:

1. I fully believe micro-communities are the future for marketing, and anything that hosts “niche groups” has a lot of promise…
2. GenZ uses FB groups A LOT for class/school… and what’s funny is… folx be saying “GenZ aint on FB”, but I’ve always smirked at that because my whole thing is: NAH, GenZ IS on FB, they’re just using it differently. So, please, keep posting your content on FB and serving ads there — they’ll see it. Heck, they may even click on it. And, content on multiple mediums builds a lot of brand trust and credibility, so JUST DO IT.

Jb

Wow, what a group. While I would include myself in this generation, I can’t relate to many of these cause I didn’t have cable. I always wished I saw these tv shows cause my friends would always talk about them. Before I lost my account to a hacker, I used Facebook to buy my first car. I think Facebook stands out from the rest because of its popularity. While its rediculed by the younger generations, Facebook is still the top social media site throughout the world. I think that’s why you can find these niche groups because of the sheer size of the website. The only other sites I can think that can match it is either Instagram (which is owned by FB) or possibly Reddit.

The 15 Biggest Social Media Sites and Apps [2021]

Wow I have never felt more seen in my life, I related to 95% of the things listed and I’m wondering how we all had the same childhood! As someone who lives in the in-between of those two major groups a community like this is very much needed and appreciated! I’ve had Facebook ever since I was in middle school but it wasn’t until college that I actually learned about FB groups and communities as I had to join one for the major I was in. I agree with you Gabi, I find these groups perfect for connecting with others who have similar interests or careers as you and also a great place to share and receive knowledge. I recently joined a design group as that something I’m interested in and even though I’m not super active on their, I have loved listening to those with many years in the industry and connecting with those who are just starting out. I think the communities are one of Facebooks biggest assets and one of the main reasons why I still have the app.

Gabi I am so glad you posted about this because if I am being honest I do not know what I would have done without Facebook Groups when I moved to Austin!

Through these groups I have been able to meet so many people, I have joined about 3 groups that I am very active in and through there I have met friends in this new city, without it it would have been very difficult for me to meet new people. I think it is so interesting to see how it has opened myself to the idea of utilizing these platforms to get to know others I would have otherwise been to shy to reach out to. I meet with new people about 2-3 times a month and I would not change it for the world. It has given me a social life in a city I did not know a single soul. It has made me fall in love with this city so much more and it has done the same for the people I have met. There are other applications like Meetup that bring people together but to me there are none like Facebook groups.

Jen, your comment made me chuckle… We can probably imagine a good list of reasons why GenZ doesn’t want to admit using FB. And, you and Sean make great points about the opportunities for marketers to engage in FB both in paid and organic ways.

Can’t recall if I shared this example in class, so just in case: Baby clothing brand Kate Quinn does a wonderful job with their private, moderated FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/katequinnvip/

What makes this group work:
– Employees rep the brand (vs a faceless logo)
– They create a sense of urgency for limited-quantity “drops” and offer early access codes for members
– They quickly and directly address CX issues
– They encourage members to share and support one another

Just goes to show the opportunity especially for small businesses…

Gabi, Wow, thank you for sharing. I haven’t been active on Facebook for like 5 years, but recently was invited to join a Facebook group Mental Health First Aid trainers to connect and share resources. A requirement of being a trainer is that there are two present at all trainings and you have to host at least 4 trainings per year to keep your certification. This really increases the need to be able to not only meet but really connect and get to know the other trainers across the country. Thanks for sharing, I’ll let you know how it goes!

Me and my friend just had an in depth conversation about this yesterday, who knew it was something that’s been actually happening! We touched on this in class that Zuckerburg had taken a bet during the pandemic that small group social media was growing, specifically around gen z and millenials. These generations had been overwhelmed with big business social media for years, where followers means everything. Since the pandemic, more and more younger folk are are going towards small-set social platforms, like Facebook Groups. My friend specifically had joined a group about “Your 20s is hard to navigate” that made me laugh but she has dead serious about. She said she really has found more value in the groups over Facebook overall.

I remember back in the day there used to be groups with excessively long titles. I really like that Facebook has groups because I can now use them for things like meeting up with friends or talking to people who share similar interests with me. It does remind me a little bit of Reddit, where each subreddit is dedicated around one topic or thought. I wonder if Facebook was inspired?

Love Facebook groups! I am in the Homemade Italian Recipes group because I love learning and cooking Italian cuisine. The group is mad up of some of the sweetest, likable, and warm people I’ve ever met virtually. Such a welcoming vibe there.

I use my other groups too, most often to chat about the tv and movies. I think it is one very positive thing about Facebook, and they deserve credit where it’s due.

Hey Gabi !! Love this shoutout to Facebook Groups! Love those rules with song names.

I am part of a few different Facebook Groups and I genuinely like and enjoy them. I am part of 2 Women’s Business’/New Jersey Small Business groups. I have a side video marketing business, so these two are helpful by receiving/giving advice to others and finding potential clients and forming business relationships.

I am also a part of a few different groups dealing with Chronic Pain/Illnesses and Myofascial Pain. These are tremendously helpful to making me feel like I am not alone always in the pain I go through with having a chronic illness/being in pain all the time. There are rules were no one can post advertisements or try to sell anything. These are groups only for support, help, and past research. If I am taking a new medication, I go to the group and see how others dealt/reacted to it. I can also ask people what are pain reduction techniques they use that work.

I love that Joel! Such a cool concept to bring together fans from all over the world to enjoy Dave Matthews Band live from their couch. My entertainment marketing background is tingling here (lol), but this would be a rad way for DMB to enter the experience to speak with fans. The place, the platform, the gathering, the method – it’s basically all there, so there’s no need for a whole digital marketing team to strategize what, when, where. I think this Facebook group is calling for a DMB exclusive 😉