Rebranding is not rare in the world of business. Corporations rebrand to give themselves a new lease of life in the market, or they may be looking to pivot their strategy. Facebook changing its name to Meta leans more towards the latter. Let’s dive into what we know about this change.
The announcement
On Thursday, October 28th 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced through a video that Facebook has officially changed its name to ‘Meta’ after a period of speculation. It has taken effect immediately as the official Facebook page changed its logo and name. Having said that, the social network Facebook will still keep its name, and it’s the company behind it that will be the Meta. Yahoo finance and other stock exchanges have changed the Facebook stock name to “Meta Platforms, Inc.”
The rationale
The CEO of the-now Meta explains the reason for the change at the company’s annual Connect event: “Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future. Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company, and I want to anchor our work and identity on what we’re building toward.”
Furthermore, he explained that ‘Meta’ in Greek means ‘beyond. They do not want to be seen as a one-product company with the name Facebook but rather wish to expand and ultimately become a metaverse company.
The effect
How the public reacted
If they have achieved anything with this announcement, Meta definitely had publicity. The vocal majority of the public sees this change as a ‘joke,’ and many memes were born from it.
Unfortunately, not all reactions are fun and lighthearted. A group of users points out that “Meta” is the feminine pronunciation for the word “Dead” in Hebrew.
Financial implications
Despite the contrasting opinions, in general, the publicity definitely did Meta good. Their stocks rose over 5% since the announcement on October 28th to over $330 per stock, which nearly recovered back to their monthly high after a sizable dip.
What can we expect
With the name ‘Meta,’ the obvious step is exploring more into gaming. Meta’s CEO revealed at the Connect conference that they would be stepping into the world of gaming and virtual reality. This will be their starting point as the details revealed suggests that messenger calls could be done through a VR headset.
In the future, the social network will be more than just a place to chat and share your photos and memories, but a lifestyle can be built on it. This is the concept of the metaverse. Some of the services that Meta will provide apart from social connections are gaming, fitness, work, entertainment, education, and commerce. Zuckerburg’s ambition is that Meta platforms will reach the one billion users milestone in the next couple of years.
Furthermore, they have also launched tools that will help people build for the metaverse. One of these tools is Presence Platform, whose function is to enable new mixed reality experiences on Quest 2. More than $150 million dollars investment has gone into this project to prepare a new generation of content creators.
Meta’s vision for the future
This is the official list of all the projects and goals that Meta released at the annual Collect event:
- Horizon Home
- Virtual Reality Messenger Calls
- Gaming
- Fitness
- Quest for Business – The future of work
- Presence Platform
- Project Cambria
- Spark AR Upgrades
- Educational investments
Concluding statement
Facebook has officially changed its name to Meta. This opens a new chapter for the company with greater ambitions. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed the desire to create a metaverse and transcend the digital experience to more than just social connections.
Although the initial reaction has been mixed, Meta’s compelling new projects are captivating. If they can deliver, this will be an exciting prospect for the future of the ‘internet.’
