Facebook changes name to Meta

Facebook changes name to Meta: Mark Zuckerberg announces company to rebrand as it moves to the metaverse

Hold your breath as the iconic Facebook gets all set to give us a conclusive internet experience that reaches beyond social media. Zuckerberg’s Meta is the rebranded corporate entity of Facebook. Meta, meaning beyond, in Greek is the first step towards building a metaverse – a virtual space where individuals across the globe can communicate, connect, and game using virtual reality headsets. This announcement comes from Mark to encompass all other things that the brand is engaged in doing at present. This adoption of a new brand identity represents and reflects the present activities and future aspirations of the iconic social media brand.

A brief of the metaverse

Metaverse is believed to be the future of the internet. It owes its identity to the science fiction novelist, Neal Stephenson, who coined it for Snow Crash, his 1992 novel. The virtual space of metaverse would allow you to be with your colleague, friend, or family member attending concerts, conducting meetings, playing games, and shopping for digital goods and services. Social media service would always remain the primary focus of the brand however, the present overhauling of the corporate identity is aimed to reflect the broader ambitions. This rebrand unveils Mark’s dream of building a digital space where users irrespective of their physical location can feel the sense of presence in the company of one another. In the words of  Zuckerberg, “metaverse would transform the way people interact with computers and with each other”. Metaverse according to Zuckerberg is expected to touch the billion mark in the next ten years.

Will Facebook like to be called Meta?

It might not sound easy for Facebook to be recognized as Meta henceforth. Almost all critics of the social media brand feel that this is a ploy to divert the attention of the users from the negative stories that have plagued its reputation. Many of them are terming this change as cosmetic, quite similar to Alphabet, Google’s failed rebranding exercise in 2015. Most importantly the metaverse as of now can boast of a theoretical presence only and is yet to become a reality. We cannot overlook the fact that the major share of the brand’s revenue comes from the ad campaigns of Instagram and Facebook. So, it would be rather strange to have a brand name that cannot be related to its services.

Wrapping it up

This announcement of a name change can never be free of the blemishes of the negativity that has tarnished the image of Facebook in recent times. You cannot overlook the fact that however much sense it makes from the commercial point-of-view; it largely seems like a clever brand realignment. Pragmatically if we go by the history of Google’s failure in trying to reorganize as Alphabet you can rest assure that Facebook and Instagram will continue to be there and not disappear from the headlines soon.

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