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In a rebranding exercise, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the parent company's name is now being changed to "Meta."
At the Connect 2021 event, Zuckerberg introduced "Meta" with a new logo, which will bring together the company's apps and technologies under one new company brand.
"Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses," Facebook said in a blog.
"Today we’re seen as a social media company.
Building social apps will always be important for us, and there’s a lot more to build. But increasingly, it’s not all we do. In our DNA, we build technology to bring people together. The metaverse is the next frontier in connecting people, just like social networking was when we got started," Zuckerberg said in a statement.
"To reflect who we are and the future we hope to build, I’m proud to share that our company is now Meta," he added.
The company's apps and their brands will not be changing. However all its products, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram among its other apps will now share its new vision- to help bring the metaverse to life.
"From now on, we will be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first. That means that over time you won’t need a Facebook account to use our other services. As our new brand starts showing up in our products, I hope people around the world come to know the Meta brand and the future we stand for," Zuckerberg said.
The metaverse, as the company defines it will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, "sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world." It will be a more immersive experience.
The company's corporate structure will remain the same. However, how it will change how it reports on its financials will.
"Starting with our results for the fourth quarter of 2021, we plan to report on two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. We also intend to start trading under the new stock ticker we have reserved, MVRS, on December 1. Today’s announcement does not affect how we use or share data," the company said.
The rebranding comes as the company is dealing with the fallout from the 'Facebook Papers' documents and allegations of the company valuing financial success over user safety.
In India, reports on Facebook by whistle blower Frances Haugen have unearthed information on sharing of hate speech and violent content in the country.
"We’ve learned from struggling with difficult social issues and living under closed platforms. Now it is time to take everything we’ve learned and help build the next chapter," Zuckerberg said.
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