Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is no longer Facebook and has now rebranded to Meta (NASDAQ:MVRS). The internet giant will keep the name for its well-established social network, and continue to be the driving force behind Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
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Metaverse-Inspired Change
During his third-quarter earnings presentation, CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserted, however, that the change of name obeyed his desire to establish the company not only as a force behind several platforms and products but as the creator of one of its most ambitious projects to date: the metaverse.
The metaverse will be a virtual reality universe to connect people around the world in three-dimensional environments where they can live shared experiences.
The idea has been repeated frequently in science fiction novels and movies for half a century and in a way, it is present in many digital products that already exist –such as the virtual world Second Life or the popular video game Fortnite.
Facebook's goal is to further develop this concept and become the company that creates the key products and tools for its evolution.
"In the metaverse, you will be able to do just about anything you can imagine: meeting friends and family, working, learning, playing, shopping, creating, as well as completely new experiences that don't really fit the way we think about computers or computers. phones today," Zuckerberg explained on the Meta blog.
Controversies
The new company name does not imply a change in the organization. Meta, to this day, continues to depend mainly on Facebook and Instagram and the enormous advertising potential of both. But the idea, in the long term, is to become "the company of the metaverse."
This strategy follows the purchase of virtual reality company Oculus, for which the company paid more than $2 billion in 2014.
Unlike other acquisitions –such as Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014– the purchase has failed to significantly increase the number of active users or the potential audience for the ads.
Further, the new name comes amid several problems facing the company these days: The internal documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen, which depicts Facebook as ignoring the impact of its products relating to fake news, extremism, and young users' mental health.
Facebook is part of the Entrepreneur Index, which tracks 60 of the largest publicly traded companies managed by their founders or their founders’ families.
