Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta. Facebook Incorporated Renamed as Meta Facebook changes name as Meta. facebook.com, meta.com metaverse
Facebook Incorporated Renamed as Meta
Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta
28 October 2021, Social Networking Company Facebook, Inc. (FB) has announced that its parent company has been renamed and rebranded as Meta. Facebook Inc. is now called Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, to reflect what CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday is its commitment to developing the new surround-yourself technology known as the “metaverse.” But the social network itself will still be called Facebook. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the new name is supposed to reflect the company's ambitions to be a leading player in the metaverse, which he says will be the future of the internet.
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Skeptics immediately accused the company of trying to change the subject from the Facebook Papers, the trove of leaked documents that have plunged it into the biggest crisis since it was founded in Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room 17 years ago. The documents portray Facebook as putting profits ahead of ridding its platform of hate, political strife and misinformation around the world. The move reminded marketing consultant Laura Ries of when energy company BP rebranded itself to “Beyond Petroleum” to escape criticism that the oil giant harmed the environment.
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger apps is not changing its name. The company’s corporate structure also won’t change. But on Dec. 1, its stock will start trading under a new ticker symbol, MVRS. The metaverse is sort of the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” you can go inside of, instead of just looking at on a screen. People can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices. It also will incorporate other aspects of online life such as shopping and social media, according to Victoria Petrock, an analyst who follows emerging technologies.
Mark Zuckerberg says that he has been thinking about changing his company's name since acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp in 2012 and 2014, respectively, but he finally decided to make the change earlier in 2021. "I think we're basically moving from being Facebook first as a company to being metaverse first," he told tech-oriented website The Verge in a telephone interview in the days prior to the announcement. "I think that there was just a lot of confusion and awkwardness about having the company brand be also the brand of one of the social media apps," he added.
Reflecting the name change, the company has reserved the ticker symbol MVRS. It plans to start trading under this new symbol starting on Dec. 1, 2021.
Key Takeaways:
- Facebook (FB) has a new corporate name, Meta.
- The new name reflects its commitment to the metaverse, the next stage of evolution for the internet.
- The new name also reflects the fact that the Facebook platform is just one of several that the company now owns.
Investing in the Metaverse
Facebook reportedly has been investing heavily into building a metaverse, which can be described as an expansive, immersive vision of the internet. Its investment in such development work is estimated to be at least $10 billion in 2021 alone. Part of the project is supposed to include introducing a unified account system that will include all the company's social apps, the Oculus Quest headset, Portal, and future devices.
Mark Zuckerberg's Vision of the Metaverse
Accompanying the announcement, Zuckerberg released a detailed letter. Highlights of his comments on the metaverse are quoted below.
"The next platform will be even more immersive—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."
"The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence—like you are right there with another person or in another place."
"In the metaverse, you'll be able to do almost anything you can imagine—get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create—as well as completely new experiences that don't really fit how we think about computers or phones today."
"In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parents' living room to catch up."
"Your TV, your perfect work setup with multiple monitors, your board games and more—instead of physical things assembled in factories, they'll be holograms designed by creators around the world."
"You’ll move across these experiences on different devices—augmented reality glasses to stay present in the physical world, virtual reality to be fully immersed, and phones and computers to jump in from existing platforms."
"From now on, we will be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first. That means that over time you won’t need a Facebook account to use our other services."
"Our hope is 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."
Zuckerberg on His Company's Role and Responsibility
Zuckerberg's letter also has a section bearing the title, "Our Role and Responsibility." Highlights are quoted below.
"The metaverse will not be created by one company."
"Our role in this journey is to accelerate the development of the fundamental technologies, social platforms and creative tools to bring the metaverse to life, and to weave these technologies through our social media apps."
"As I wrote in our original founder’s letter: 'we don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.'"
"The last five years have been humbling for me and our company in many ways. One of the main lessons I've learned is that building products people love isn’t enough."
"Privacy and safety need to be built into the metaverse from day one. So do open standards and interoperability. This will require not just novel technical work like supporting crypto and NFT projects in the community but also new forms of governance."
Some Searchable Question:
- The meta or metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. Our company’s vision is to help bring the metaverse to life, so we are changing our name to reflect our commitment to this future.
What is the Parent Company of Facebook ?
- Meta or Metaverse
What is the Parent Company of Instagram ?
- Meta or Metaverse
What is the Parent Company of What's App ?
- Meta or Metaverse
What is the Parent Company of Messenger ?
- Meta or Metaverse
About Meta or Metaverse:
Some Companies Owned By Facebook (Meta):
- Messenger
- Oculus VR
- Onavo
- Beluga
- FriendFeed
- Ascenta
- LiveRail
- Giphy
- Maillary, etc.
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