In a major rebranding move, Facebook Inc has changed its name to ‘Meta’ to emphasise Metaverse vision. As the new brand name and logo were unveiled, it got everyone talking online, spurring torrents of conversations and thoughts along with criticisms.
With the round of speculations, the tech giant has revealed that this change would bring together its different apps and technologies under one new brand. It said it would not change its corporate structure.
All the rumours were laid to rest at the company’s annual connect event – Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference 2021 where the official announcement was made. The mission of the company is about bringing people together, the apps and the brands remain the same.
What is a metaverse?
Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has announced that it is changing the name of its company to ‘Meta’ – connecting closer to its Metaverse future.
‘Meta’ in Greek means ‘after’ or ‘beyond’. The overall Facebook company will now simply be called Meta. However, the Facebook app will retain its name and there’s no change for other apps.
A metaverse is a place where people exist as digital representations of themselves, basically living and doing everything that they would do in real life. It refers to a shared virtual world which people can access via the internet.
Meta is short for Metaverse. In short, it’s a universe beyond. A world where people can go shopping, attend concerts – except everything happens virtually. The symbol represents infinity. The company also unveiled a new sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, replacing its thumbs-up “Like” logo with a blue infinity shape.
This move isn’t just a reflection of the name change but of the company’s growing ambitions.
Why is there a need to do this?
This rebranding by the tech giant is being affirmed as the next big social revolution.
3D spaces in Metaverse will let you socialize, learn, collaborate, and play in ways that go beyond your imagination. Metaverse is building the following products:
- Virtual Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Smart Glasses
Zuckerberg said Meta would encompass Facebook as well as apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp and the virtual reality brand Oculus.
Announcing Meta — the Facebook company’s new name, the tech giant said in a tweet. “Meta is helping to build the metaverse, a place where we’ll play and connect in 3D. Welcome to the next chapter of social connection.
Will this change harm my data?
Post the event, the keynote by the founder also talked about how they don’t want to surprise people with new technology, and that they would need to work with policymakers, governments as the metaverse is being built. But details are still unclear on how privacy would function in this metaverse.
One this clear that it will not affect Digital marketing agencies which use the social media platform Facebook for advertisement and social media marketing.
How will this change the company’s current scenarios?
The new name reflects that over time, users will not need to use Facebook to use the company’s other services.
With this move, the company hopes that within the next decade, the metaverse will reach a billion people, host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce, and support jobs for millions of creators and developers. The company has indicated that augmented and virtual reality will be a key part of its strategy in the coming years.
In a post-pandemic world, as more and more people have started working from home and staying connected virtually, there has been an increased demand for virtual connections. Work from home in the metaverse would have a different meaning. Logging in would let you experience the office, almost as if you were there, without having to be there in the actual physical sense. This will completely change the way we live, learn and connect in the times to come.
The tech giant envisions that the future would be “an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it. We call this the metaverse, and it will touch every product we build.”
