Why Facebook is planning to change its name
What? Is Facebook changing its name? Yes, this time it’s for real! Social media giant Facebook is planning to rebrand the company name. This is meant to signal the tech giant’s ambition to be known for more than social media and the ills that entail. It will also reflect its focus on building the metaverse, an idea for a world that blurs the lines between the digital and the physical, says a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Citing an anonymous source, tech blog The Verge attributes the name change to facilitate a broader shift toward creating a metaverse. The metaverse refers to a future version of the internet that people access using VR and AR technology. In Europe alone, Facebook will hire 10,000 people to create the metaverse. On October 28, CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to discuss the name change at the company’s annual connect conference. The rebrand will cast the Facebook app as just one of the many products under a parent company which will also oversee other Facebook-owned properties like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and Giphy. In July, Zuckerberg told The Verge that “over the next several years, we will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company”.
Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are under surveillance
Facebook and the CEO have both been facing flak since long. The criticism is over the company’s spread of misinformation and hate speech, and its potential to be harmful for teenagers and children. Rebranding and changing names have always been a powerful strategy for various companies during a crisis. The catch? Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. A rebranding can be part of an effort to overhaul Facebook’s reputation following a tsunami of bad news. This can be linked to misinformation on its platforms, content moderation failures and alleged revelations about the negative impact on some users’ mental health. Facebook is facing criticism over a range of scandals, including a series of internal documents leaked by a whistleblower, France Haugen, who testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Facebook is under an antitrust scrutiny by the US government. “We don’t comment on rumour or speculation,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
What will be the new name of Facebook?
A closely guarded secret, the new name can be along the lines of ‘Horizon’ or ‘Meta’, says a Bloomberg report. Be prepared, Mark Zuckerberg will discuss the name change at the company’s annual connect conference this week. Though Facebook has not confirmed the report, many suspect the company is attempting to stave off the tsunami of bad press and the negative effect its products have through the name change. “Unless Facebook has serious plans to address at least some of its many issues, just changing a name is pointless. In fact, it can worsen matters,” warns Rebrand CEO.
