Facebook rebrands company name to Meta
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It's official: Facebook Inc. will now be called Meta.
The company made the disclosure on Thursday (October 28, US time), a move that signifies a shift in focus beyond social media.
Founder Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the firm's virtual reality and augmented reality conference Facebook Connect, said that the company is focusing more on the metaverse, or virtual and augmented technologies combined.
“I've been thinking a lot about our identity as we begin this next chapter. Facebook is one of the most used products in the history of the world,” said Zuckerberg.
“It is an iconic social media brand, but increasingly it just doesn't encompass everything that we do,” he added, alluding to the company's social media subsidiaries such as Instagram and WhatsApp complementing its flagship brand Facebook.
He added, “Today we're seen as a social media company. But in our DNA, we are a company that builds technology to connect people. And the metaverse is the next frontier just like social networking was when we got started.”
During the same conference, Facebook played a series of videos to hype up the company's new vision including the use of holographic image in concerts, virtual meeting tables, immersive games, and a virtual marketplace where users can sell virtual goods.
While exciting and a sound business decision, critics are also pouncing on the company for what they perceive as a damage control tactic to soften the blow brought by latest controversies.
Facebook is currently facing intense scrutiny after former employee-turned-whistleblower Frances Haugen accused the company of prioritizing profit over safety by tolerating misinformation, hate speech, and disregarding the privacy of its millions of users.
Zuckerberg denied the allegations, saying that the internal research documents leaked are being used to paint a “false picture” of the company.
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