On Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the corporate name of the social media platform will change to ‘’Meta’’. The name is changed to emphasize its ‘’Metaverse’’ Vision. He said, ‘’ for now on we are going to be Metaverse first, not Facebook.’’
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about his passion and vision to create a virtual reality ‘’Metaverse’’ for entertainment, business, and significant social interactions.
Addressing the company’s annual developer’s conference Zuckerberg said that I hope people come to know the Meta brand and the future we stand for.
Meta- what can you do?
Metaverse is described as a three-dimensional virtual space where users can create avatars for representation. The functions of the new virtual space include video games, watching movies, attending concerts, gathering with friends without leaving their living room, and collaborating with colleagues.
The whole idea of changing its name from Facebook to Metaverse is to focus on building virtual reality products. According to the company productions, around one billion people will be on the Metaverse in the next decade.
Furthermore, the company is changing its stock ticker from ‘’FB’’ to ‘’MVRS’’ effective December 1.
Reaction to Meta
Since the company is already facing criticism for lacking protection for its users on social media applications. Metaverse is diverting the attention. Earlier this month, a former employee of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen publicly came forward. She accuses Facebook of spreading misinformation for years, and not doing enough to combat the negative effects.
Facebook also came before the Congressional committee for ‘’60 Minutes’’ in a testimony where the questions were put forward regarding the accusations. Hence, in the conference, Zuckerberg assures to build‘’ privacy’’ and ‘’safety’’ into Metaverse from day one.
He says, ‘’ You will get to decide when you want to be with other people, when you want to block someone from appearing in your space or when you want to take a break and teleport to a private place to be alone.’’
Some people believe metaverse could be the future of the internet. However, for some, it looks like a version of VR. Instead of being on the computer, people in Metaverse might use a headset to enter into the virtual world.
Facebook also revealed that it will soon start trading its shares under the new stock ticker MVRS from 1 December. Though,’’ Metaverse’’ doesn’t exist yet. Therefore, some experts believe it’s too early to say something about, as big tech rebrands have failed in the past. For example, Google as ‘’Alphabet’’. It may be a hype to divert the trove of negative stories hanging around the company.