Facebook changes name to Meta

Bye, Facebook. Hello, Meta.

A week after Facebook announced it is going to change its name, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckberg on Thursday (28 October) unveiled the new name and logo along with the new direction the company is pursuing. Facebook also intends to change its stock ticker name to MVRS starting 1 December.

The change doesn’t apply to the social media platforms under the parent company: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. It only applies to the holding company. The rebranding is reportedly a better representation of the company’s mission to dive into virtual reality (VR). 

"Our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything we're doing today, let alone the future,” said Zuckerberg at Facebook’s annual conference Connect.

The social media giant is going to build “metaverse”, an online space where people can work, play games and communicate with each other. Facebook and its social media platforms will be housed in a separate division from the VR division.

Metaverse is projected as the next phase of the Internet, but the trend will likely take off in 10 to 15 years. It also garners criticisms of whether Facebook will be able to handle a new virtual space when it can’t handle the misinformation roaming around the social media platforms.

The rebranding came amidst its recent controversy involving a whistleblower who leaked Facebook documents to the Congress. The documents detail how Facebook mishandles harmful information and negatively impacts the well-being of teenagers.