Facebook announced in October 2021 that it would change its corporate name to Meta. This rebranding comes as Facebook shifts its focus to building the “metaverse,” a virtual reality space where users can interact, work, and play. The name change does not affect Facebook’s social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which will maintain their current names.
Why is Facebook changing its name to Meta?
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been very vocal about his vision for the metaverse and Facebook’s role in building it. Changing the overall corporate name from Facebook to Meta signals this strategic refocusing on the next generation of virtual and augmented reality technology.
While Facebook’s social media platforms remain highly profitable, the company sees the potential for even greater growth in the metaverse space. The rebranding allows Facebook to distinguish its metaverse focus from its current social media business.
Focusing on the metaverse
Zuckerberg has described the metaverse as “the next evolution of social connection.” In the metaverse, users will interact in virtual and augmented reality environments rather than just viewing content on screens. According to Zuckerberg, the metaverse will allow people to play, work, and socialize together in new ways.
Facebook has invested heavily in virtual and augmented reality hardware and software companies in recent years, like Oculus VR and CTRL-Labs, to support its metaverse ambitions. The new Meta branding better captures the company’s strategic investments in developing metaverse technologies and products.
Separating social media from other projects
The rebrand also creates separation between Facebook’s existing social media business and its newer metaverse projects. This may be an effort to reduce regulatory scrutiny of Facebook’s social media activity and data collection practices.
Facebook has faced intense criticism in recent years over privacy, misinformation, polarization, and other issues stemming from its social platforms. The new corporate branding distinguishes Meta’s metaverse focus from the more controversial aspects of its social media presence.
What products and technologies will Meta focus on?
As part of its metaverse strategy, Meta is investing in several key technologies:
Virtual and augmented reality
Meta is developing advanced VR and AR hardware and software to power immersive, interactive virtual environments. This includes its Oculus VR headsets and Horizon virtual worlds. Meta plans to release Project Cambria, a higher-end VR headset, in 2022.
Brain-computer interfaces
Meta is researching ways to use electrodes and wearable devices to allow people to control computers through brain signals. This could enable more natural metaverse experiences. Meta has invested in brain-computer interface companies like CTRL-Labs.
Digital avatars
Digital avatars will represent users visually in the metaverse. Meta is developing avatar technology that can reflect a user’s facial expressions and body movements in real-time.
Artificial intelligence
AI will enable metaverse experiences to be hyper-customized and responsive. Meta is developing AI systems that can understand speech, language, images, and videos to intuitively serve users’ needs and desires.
| Technology | Details |
|---|---|
| Virtual reality | Oculus headsets, Horizon platform |
| Augmented reality | AR glasses, spatial computing |
| Brain-computer interfaces | CTRL-Labs wristband, electrodes |
| Digital avatars | Codes, Emoji reactions, facial/body tracking |
| Artificial intelligence | Natural language, computer vision systems |
How will the Meta rebrand impact Facebook’s apps and products?
Facebook’s core apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger will retain their existing names and branding. The corporate name change to Meta will likely have minimal direct impact on users of these products.
Behind the scenes, we will likely see deeper integration between Facebook’s apps and its metaverse offerings over time. For example, your digital avatar and profile could seamlessly sync across Facebook, Horizon, and other Meta platforms.
In the future, stand-alone metaverse-focused hardware and software products will carry the Meta brand rather than the Facebook name. But Meta will continue supporting the massive user bases of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger.
Unifying through a metaverse account system
Meta could potentially allow users to login across its family of apps and metaverse platforms with a unified account system. This would bring all of Meta’s offerings together under one login.
For example, a single Meta account could give you access to Facebook, Horizon, office productivity software, and more. This would create a massive network effect across Meta’s products.
Cross-promoting apps and metaverse platforms
Facebook will likely use its family of apps to promote awareness of its metaverse offerings. For example, you may see Meta metaverse ads and recommendations within Instagram stories and Facebook feeds.
Meta could offer exclusive metaverse content and features to highly engaged users of its social apps. This would drive cross-promotion between apps and metaverse platforms.
How will the rebranding impact Facebook employees?
The rebranding to Meta will likely reshape Facebook’s corporate culture and employee incentives:
Shifting focus to the metaverse
With the new Meta mission, employees will be encouraged to focus their efforts on metaverse-related projects instead of solely supporting Facebook’s social apps. This cultural shift will happen slowly.
Attracting new talent
The rebranding may help Meta attract talent with expertise in emerging technologies like AI, VR, and AR rather than just social media. Meta will position itself as leading the way in metaverse innovation.
New performance metrics
Meta will begin evaluating employees based on their contributions to metaverse projects rather than just engagement and revenue metrics for Facebook apps. Performance reviews and promotions may increasingly reflect the company’s metaverse goals.
Emphasizing long-term vision
Mark Zuckerberg’s employee memo on the rebranding asked workers to think about Meta’s future beyond just ads and social media over the next 5-10 years. This long-term view will become central to Meta’s culture.
What challenges does Meta face in achieving its vision?
While the Meta rebrand signals big ambitions, the company faces some major challenges in realizing its vision:
Fierce competition
Meta is relatively late to the game in the VR/AR space compared to companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google which have all invested heavily in metaverse-like offerings. Competing with these tech giants will be difficult.
Unproven technology
Meta is betting big on emerging technologies like digital avatars, AI, and brain interfaces that remain largely unproven. It’s unclear if or when these technologies will be mature enough to support Meta’s vision.
Hardware limitations
Bulky VR headsets and limited AR hardware performance are key obstacles to mass adoption. Meta will need revolutionary improvements in form factor and functionality.
Privacy concerns
Meta’s data collection practices and targeting of ads based on user data raise huge privacy issues. This could spark regulatory crackdowns that limit Meta’s capabilities.
Social issues
Meta faces ongoing criticism that its social platforms harm young users’ mental health and enable misinformation and polarization. Meta needs to grapple with these issues for its metaverse bet to succeed.
Conclusion
The rebranding from Facebook to Meta signals the company’s ambitious vision for the future. While social media remains Meta’s core business for now, it aims to soon be a leader in building the next generation metaverse.
This strategy comes with great risks given intense competition, unproven technologies, hardware limitations, privacy concerns, and ongoing social issues facing Meta’s current platforms. If Meta can carefully navigate these challenges, it may be poised to help define the future of work, entertainment, and social connection in profound ways. But successfully executing on this vision will be incredibly difficult.