Facebook was renamed as Meta to refocus on virtual reality.
The name change comes in response to criticism from lawmakers and regulators over Facebook’s market power, algorithm decisions, abuse of service (policing) practicesâ, and more recently their pivoting into the world narrow VR industry by way of acquiring Oculus Rift for $2 billion earlier this year before releasing an updated version last month that has been received positively among consumers thus far despite its early October launch date being much later than expected due largely because they were waiting until all hardware issues had been ironed out first so people could try them without any hassle whatsoever; which now means if you want one please go right ahead though
Facebook Inc is now called Meta, the company said on Thursday in a rebrand that focuses on building “the metaverse” — an online virtual environment where people can meet and communicate with each other using technology similar to what you see inside VR headsets.
The name change comes as Facebook battles criticisms from lawmakers over its market power while also facing criticism for not making its algorithms transparent enough or having too much control over how content appears across different platforms such as Instagram Stories (owned by parent company Instagram).
In front of a live-streamed audience, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company’s new name reflects investments in metaverse rather than namesake social media service. He further explained their work on this futuristic idea which is now attracting buzz within Silicon Valley circles as well!
“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,” said Zuckerberg.
The company, which has invested heavily in augmented and virtual reality technology to provide a fun experience for its users around the world through games like Pokémon Go or Snapchat Stories announced that they will be combining their different apps under one new brand. They said this change would bring together all of these technologies while also not changing any corporate structure as well!
With the latest controversy, whistleblower and former Facebook employee Frances Haugen leaked documents which she said showed the company chose profit over user safety. These leaks have in recent weeks led to testimony before a U.S Senate subcommittee as well as lawmakers within UK Parliament by CEO Mark Zuckerberg who maintains these are being used for false purposes despite his earlier statement that “there’s no need”.
Facebook is replacing its thumbs-up “Like” logo with a blue infinity shape. The company said in a blog post that it intends to start trading under the new stock ticker MVRS on Dec 1st and unveiled an even cooler sign at their headquarters this week, which replaces all previous signs of approval from social media users as you can see above! Shares closed up 1.5% aftermarket today too 🙂
Facebook has announced that they are cutting back on their hardware division and will instead focus more of the company’s resources on AR/VR. This means a reduction in operating profit for this year by about $10 billion dollars, which was already expected to happen anyway because it seems like most people don’t really use Facebook as much anymore due to Instagram taking over social media reigns from 2015-present (but who knows).
This year, the company created a product team in this unit focused on the metaverse and it recently announced plans to hire 10K employees over five years. In an interview with tech publication The Information, Zuckerberg said he has not considered stepping down as CEO nor has thoughts about spinning off his newest venture.
Facebook is not one to shy away from a change of pace, and with the Oculus branding now being called “Meta products,” it’s clear that this new direction will have some exciting consequences for VR enthusiasts.
The name change was first reported by The Verge last week – what does your opinion on these developments say?
The company’s reputation has taken multiple hits in recent years, including over its handling of user data and its policing of abuses such as health misinformation. The U.S Federal Trade Commission filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging anticompetitive practices to name just a few!
“While it’ll help alleviate confusion by distinguishing Facebook’s parent company from its founding app, a name change doesn’t suddenly erase the systemic issues plaguing the company,” said Mike Proulx, research director at market research firm Forrester.
This is not the first time Facebook has made headlines for removing features. The company’s decision to phase out its namesake app in 2020 was announced last year but this could be just a testing process said Prashant Malaviya, a marketing professor at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
“Without a doubt, (the Facebook name) is definitely damaged and toxic,” he said.
The new name for Facebook will make it easier to use the company’s other services, says Zuckerberg. The word ” Beyond” reflects that over time users won’t need a social media to account with this provider in order to access content on their devices or via third-party websites- they can just type Facebook into search engines like Google instead!
In 2015, Google reorganized to create a new holding company called Alphabet Inc. As the popular search engine broke into new fields such as self-driving cars and high-speed broadband it expanded its cloud business while Snapchat launched their first pair of smart glasses in 2016..
Facebook announced a slew of new AR and VR product updates during Connect, including the ability for people to call friends using Facebook Messenger. It also introduced social versions of its home called “Horizon Home” that are invite only at this time but you can sign up here if you want access!
When Mark Zuckerberg took the stage, he showed off videos of what a Metaverse might look like. Avatars are able to interact with one another and be transported into any digital version of places or time periods they choose; safety is key for this virtual world’s success!
