The name change was announced by Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s CEO, as part of the company’s future plans to establish a “metaverse,” a virtual reality environment where users may interact with one another. The change comes amid a public relations crisis for the firm, which has been accused of prioritizing its financial interests over those of society. Following the global failure of his company’s services, which resulted in millions of dollars in losses and raised concerns among users about the confidentiality and protection of their personal data, and amid a wave of criticism of Facebook following several revelations about how he manages his interests.
The multibillion-dollar firm’s CEO made the statement on the margins of the firm’s own augmented virtual reality conference. He said at the ceremony that the new moniker is more true to the creative approach that his technological firm would be taking going forward: the building of a metaverse,’ a wholly virtual world that will replace present social networks. According to Zuckerberg, the previous name (Facebook Inc.) is “so strongly related to a product” that it can’t reflect all that’s being built right now, let alone in the future. The consortium, which joins extremely congested cyber areas including the namesake social network, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, would consolidate its many programmes under the new brand and keep its corporate structure intact.
The infinity symbol with the blue of Facebook: the Meta logo
The new sign, which replaced the famed thumb up of the ‘Like’ with a blue infinity symbol, the company’s new emblem, can now be seen at the entrance to its offices in Melo Park, California. This announcement comes in the wake of US politicians and regulators criticizing the company’s market power. Surprisingly, Wall Street trade rose 3.7 percent on Thursday afternoon after the news was announced.
In recent weeks, the corporation has been scrutinized by the public. Last Monday, a media consortium revealed that Facebook has previously permitted content that incited violence in countries where armed conflicts were underway in order to safeguard its financial interests. Frances Haugen, a former employee of the corporation, disclosed records demonstrating that the company prioritized financial gain over the safety of its customers, resulting in the present crisis. On this subject, Haugen even testified before the United States Senate. The company’s commitment to combating abuses and assaults on its platforms has been called into doubt since then.
The metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. It's a collective project that will be created by people all over the world, and open to everyone. You’ll be able to socialize, learn, collaborate and play in ways that go beyond what’s possible today. pic.twitter.com/655yFRm8yZ
— Meta (@Meta) October 28, 2021
The ‘metaverse’, a new world of virtual reality
According to Zuckerberg’s words, Facebook Inc has not yet published the new search that the company’s leaders are considering. The term ‘Meta’ alludes to the ‘Metaverse,’ a new method in which billions of dollars will be invested in the next years, with the goal of building a completely new world of virtual reality. The ‘Metaverse’ is an entirely virtual environment in which individuals may communicate, meet, work, and even visit locations without having to travel, all in shared digital areas. The construction of this universe is meant to replace the 2,900 million people that explore various social networks and is gaining traction as a replacement for mobile Internet.
The word was initially coined in 1992 by Neal Stephenson, a science fiction writer, in his work “Snow Crash,” however it was not used by any industry until this October 28.