Last Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will now change its platforms name to Meta. The name change reflects growth opportunities and a focus on Metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg stated that this change had nothing to do with the negativity talk that has been circling around his brand. But others believe different. In the recent years though, Facebook has only been in the news for the negativity of the brand.
No matter what the reason is for this sudden change, there is a ton to learn about. So, what is metaverse? What do others have to say about this change? Will this benefit Facebook in any way?
What is a Metaverse?
Fortune states that a metaverse is the concept of the metaverse was popularized in the science-fiction novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson to refer to a digital universe that can be accessed through virtual reality. The metaverse is portrayed in popular media as fully immersive online realm that looks similar to the real world but is computer generated.
What Others Are Saying About This Change
Of course, others had some things to say about this sudden change.
Even, some companies went to Twitter to make some “hilarious” tweets about Facebook changing to Meta:
Based on these 5 screenshots, you can see that people and even companies are not pleased with the change of Facebook and turned it into a laughing stock. In fact, Meta and Zuck were trending on Twitter last week, due to the talk of this rebrand.
A recent article from CNBC stated that former Google CEO sounds skeptical that Facebook will build the metaverse. Eric Schmidt said “I look forward to excellent innovation in the metaverse,” Schmidt told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday, while discussing his new book “The Age of AI: And Our Human Future.” “I’ve been waiting for about thirty years. … As to whether Facebook will build that, I don’t know.”
On another note, the rise of the metaverse does pose questions for regulators already fighting to regulate social media, the internet and misinformation. There will be a ton of figuring out to do in regards of regulating the metaverse.
Facial Recognition Going Away?
On November 2nd, Facebook announced that they will be deleting facial recognition from the app. The meaning of this is that Facebook will not automatically tag photos with names, but instead use facial recognition to verify identity, prevent fraud and impersonation.
Already a Bump in the Road…
As Facebook announced the rename to be Meta, they did not realize that there is another company that filed for a trademark for the word “Meta” back in August. This company is called Meta PC, which they sell computers, laptops, tablets, and software. Meta’s PC trademark has not been granted yet, so whether the company gets it instead of Facebook is still up in the air.
But one lesson that brand managers can take from this is you can change a name of a brand, but you cannot change the past or current reputation of a brand.
Additional Meta Resources
Facebook’s rebrand could lose a ton of employees – here’s why (CNBC)
Facebook Changes Name to Meta (IDeas BIG)
