Last Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s new corporate name will be ‘Meta.’
The social networking site will still be called Facebook; however, its namesake will be reduced to one of the company’s subsidiaries– alongside Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp. In short, the app is still called Facebook, but the parent company is now Meta.
Yup, that’ll take a while to get used to…
Zuckerberg explained his interest was to rebrand Facebook– I mean, Meta– from a social media company to “a metaverse company.”
Following the announcement, Zuckerberg now owns the Twitter handle @meta and meta.com. If you click on the company’s website, it will redirect you to a welcome page on Facebook elaborating on the company’s changes.
What’s a Metaverse?
If you’re not sure what “metaverse” means, you’re not alone.
Keeping it simple, a ‘metaverse’ is an immersive online world where humans, via holograms or their avatars, can interact with each other. Imagine The Matrix or Ready Player One’s “Oasis.”
The term was originally coined by futurists; however, internet companies have now adopted it as inspiration.
Zuckerberg aims to develop his own metaverse by investing in VR and AR technology. Having purchased Oculus seven years ago, Zuckerberg hopes their technology could provide the foundations to building their metaverse.
So far, the company has reportedly spent $10 billion in development, and announced an additional $50 million investment program to ensure its “products are developed responsibly.”
Criticism
The company’s rebrand provides another follow-up to Facebook’s latest news in the press.
Last month, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents revealing Facebook’s malpractices. She later testified in the U.S. congress elaborating on the company’s exploits.
Among many things, Haugen revealed Facebook had been “fanning ethnic violence” via Facebook’s News Feed Feature. Meanwhile, its subsidiary Instagram had been targeting teen girls with “anorexia-promoting” content.
In light of this, both netizens and public figures have criticized the company’s tone-less announcement.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who invited Frances Haugen to testify, wrote on the matter:
“You can run but you can’t hide Facebook. A new nom de plume may confuse and distract, but won’t erase years of devious practices and disregard for privacy, kids’ wellbeing, spreading hate, and genocide.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez wrote:
“Meta as in ‘we are a cancer to democracy metastasising into a global surveillance and propaganda machine for boosting authoritarian regimes and destroying civil society… for profit!”
Aside from critics, Twitter has been having a field day roasting the company.
Despite the criticism, Zuckerberg is yet to back down. According to Vox, he and his company have dismissed Haugen’s testimony and intend to move ahead with the company’s ‘metaverse.’
We are yet to know what Meta will become. For now, this tweet sums it up best:
