Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced his new name, Meta, during a virtual event on Thursday, October 28, 2021, as seen on the screen of a device in Sausalito, Calif. Zuckerberg talks about his latest passion – building a virtual reality ” metaverse” for business, entertainment and meaningful social interaction.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company is rebranding itself as Meta in an effort to embody its virtual-reality vision for the future — which Zuckerberg calls “the Metaverse.”
Skeptics point out that it also appears to be an attempt to change the subject from Facebook Papers, a leaked document dubbed by a consortium of news organizations that includes The Associated Press.
Many of these documents, previously described by former Facebook employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Hogen, reveal how Facebook ignored internal warnings of negative and often harmful consequences or ruined its algorithms around the world. Gave.
“Facebook is the world’s social media platform and they are being accused of creating something that is harmful to people and society,” said marketing consultant Laura Rees.
She compared the meta name when BP rebranded “Beyond Petroleum” to avoid criticism that it harmed the environment.
“They can’t walk away from the social network with a new corporate name and talk of the metaverse of the future.”
What is Metaverse? Think of it as something the Internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D.
Zuckerberg describes it as a “virtual environment” that you can walk into—instead of just looking at a screen.
Essentially, it is a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work, and play using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps, or other devices.
According to Victoria Petrok, an analyst who follows emerging technologies, it will also cover other aspects of online life such as shopping and social media.
Zuckerberg says he expects the metaverse to reach a billion people in the next decade.
It will be a place where people will be able to interact, work and create products and content, which they hope will lead to a new ecosystem that will create millions of jobs for creators.
The announcement has been made amid Facebook’s existential crisis.
It is facing legislative and regulatory scrutiny in many parts of the world following disclosures in Facebook Papers.
Some of Facebook’s biggest critics were not impressed. The Real Facebook Oversight Board, a watchdog group focused on the company, announced that it would keep its name.
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“Changing their name does not change the reality: Facebook is destroying our democracy and the world’s leading peddler of propaganda and hate,” the group said in a statement.
“His meaningless name change should not detract from the scrutiny, regulation and genuine, independent oversight necessary to hold Facebook accountable.”
Explaining the rebrand, Zuckerberg said that the “Facebook” name doesn’t cover everything the company does anymore.
In addition to its primary social network, which now includes Instagram, Messenger, its Quest VR headset, its Horizon VR platform, and more.
“Today we are seen as a social media company,” Zuckerberg said.
“But in our DNA we are a company that makes technology to connect people.”
Facebook, along with the app, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, are here to stay; The corporate structure of the company will also not change. But from December 1, its shares will start trading under a new ticker symbol “MVRS”.
“The metaverse, he said, is the new way.” Zuckerberg, a fan of the classics, pointed out that the word “meta” comes from the Greek word for “beyond.”
A corporate rebranding won’t solve Facebook’s myriad problems uncovered by thousands of internal documents in recent weeks.
It probably won’t even get people to stop calling the social media giant Facebook — or the “social media giant” for that matter.
But that isn’t deterring Zuckerberg, who is eager to move on to his next big thing as crisis after crisis emerges at the company he built.
Dismissing the Facebook Papers revelations as unwarranted criticism, Zuckerberg has focused on creating a virtual environment that you can go inside instead of just looking at a screen.
Just as smartphones replaced desktop computers, Zuckerberg is betting that the metaverse will be the next way people interact with computers — and each other.
If Instagram and messaging were Facebook’s steps in mobile evolution, its bet on the meta metaverse. And what could be better than changing the name of how serious he is.
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