Facebook changes its corporate name to Meta in major rebrand

As part of a significant redesign, Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta.

As it expands its influence beyond social media into areas such as virtual reality, the firm claims it will better “encompass” what it does (VR).

The shift solely affects the parent business, not the individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp.

Following a succession of unfavorable headlines about Facebook based on papers obtained by an ex-employee, the company has taken this step.

Frances Haugen has charged the firm of prioritizing “earnings over safety.”

Google restructured its corporation in 2015, renaming its parent company Alphabet, but the name has yet to catch on.

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, revealed the new name alongside ambitions to create a “metaverse,” an online world where people may game, work, and chat in a virtual environment, frequently utilizing virtual reality goggles.

• What is the metaverse, and how does it work?
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He claimed that the current brand couldn’t “reasonably represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future,” and that it needed to be updated.

“I hope that we be seen as a metaverse firm over time,” he said at a virtual conference. “I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re striving towards.”

“We’re now looking at and reporting on our company as two separate parts, one for our app family and the other for our efforts on future platforms.”

“As part of this, we need to create a new corporate identity that encompasses all we do, reflects who we are, and reflects what we aim to achieve.”

On Thursday, the firm unveiled a new sign at its Menlo Park headquarters, replacing the thumbs-up “Like” emblem with a blue infinity form.

Mr. Zuckerberg explained that the new name reflects the fact that consumers will no longer be required to use Facebook to access the company’s other services in the future.
The word “meta” is derived from a Greek word that means “beyond.”

To the untrained eye, a metaverse may appear to be a virtual reality simulation, yet some believe it is the internet’s future.

People in a metaverse might utilize a headset instead of a computer to access a virtual world that connects all kinds of digital surroundings.

It is envisaged that the virtual world will be used for a variety of purposes, including work, recreation, and concerts, as well as socializing with friends and family.

From December 1, Facebook plans to begin trading its shares under the new stock symbol MVRS.

Documents that have been leaked

The Washington Post reported today that Facebook concealed key information regarding vaccination disinformation from officials during the pandemic, putting the company’s reputation in jeopardy.

It was the most recent in a string of stories based on internal documents released to the media by ex-employee Ms Haugen. According to the reports, Facebook sat on studies showing that Instagram was harming teen mental health and struggled to remove hate speech from its platforms outside of the United States.

The reports, according to Mr Zuckerberg, are a “organized effort to selectively utilize hacked material to present a false picture of our organization.”

Analysis by Bazzup

It’s challenging to come up with a firm name. According to Zuckerberg, he selected Meta because it means “beyond” in Greek. It also alludes to the “Metaverse,” a virtual sanctuary he hopes to create online.

Here’s why Facebook might have a hard time convincing everyone to refer to them as Meta.

To begin with, the move appears to be an attempt by Facebook to shift attention away from the plethora of unfavorable news swirling around the corporation. According to critics, Facebook did this because its brand has grown toxic. Senators have already dismissed the name change, with one dismissing it as “cosmetic.”

Second, there is no such thing as the “Metaverse.” It was important for Zuckerberg to emphasize that this was a long-term offering. So having a name that has nothing to do with your main product is a little weird. Advertising on Facebook and Instagram accounts for nearly all of Facebook’s revenue.

Finally, we know that previous Big Tech rebranding attempts have failed. Google is almost never referred to as “Alphabet,” the moniker it adopted in 2015.

What is evident is that Mr Zuckerberg’s passion for Instagram and Facebook has waned. He wants to create virtual environments that he believes will change the human experience. It must be exhausting to be constantly chastised for how he operates his social media businesses. This reorganization may allow him to focus more on the parts of the company that he enjoys.

In that regard, the divide makes logical. We’ll have to wait and see if folks are willing to go along with it.