Facebook announced on Thursday (Oct 28) that it was changing its corporate name to Meta.
“From now on, we’ll be metaverse first, not Facebook first,” said chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg during the company’s Oculus Connect event.
“Over time, you won’t need to use Facebook to use our other services.”
Mr Zuckerberg hinted in July that he wanted Facebook to become a “metaverse company eventually,” hiring 10,000 people across Europe to establish the metaverse project.
The social app Facebook, Horizon, WhatsApp, and the rest of the products in the company’s portfolio will be placed underneath the Meta umbrella, like Google operating under the Alphabet umbrella.
Unlike Alphabet and Google, however, Facebook confirmed its “corporate structure is not changing.” The changes will mainly focus on how its financials are reported.
“Now, we have a new north star,” Mr Zuckerberg said.
The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world, said Facebook in a press release.
“It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together — and do things together you couldn’t do in the physical world.”
Facebook will be publicly traded under the new stock ticker MVRS beginning Dec 1, 2021.
Over the last few weeks, Facebook received backlash following leaked documents exposing the company’s business practices.
Experts also informed Business Insider that the metaverse change was a “genius” marketing move yet would not suffice in saving the company from criticism.
Facebook is likely trying to “divert the conversation from their current problems onto the metaverse, which is exciting and futuristic,” said Anne Olderog, senior partner at consulting firm Vivaldi with 20 years of brand-strategy experience.
“And truly, nobody understands” the metaverse, which is “also a brilliant move,” she added.
Meta took to Twitter on Friday (Oct 29) to explain its platform. “The metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. It’s a collective project that will be created by people all over the world, and open to everyone. You’ll be able to socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what’s possible today.” /TISG
The metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. It's a collective project that will be created by people all over the world, and open to everyone. You’ll be able to socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what’s possible today. pic.twitter.com/655yFRm8yZ
— Meta (@Meta) October 28, 2021
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