Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 2.8 billion monthly active users as of the third quarter of 2021. However, in recent years, Facebook has faced various controversies related to privacy, data usage, and the spread of misinformation on its platforms. As a result, Facebook has been considering rebranding itself with a new name that focuses on the metaverse.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse refers to a future iteration of the internet that consists of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked to a virtual universe. People can interact with the metaverse through virtual and augmented reality headsets, allowing users to work, play, and socialize together in these virtual spaces. Facebook sees the metaverse as the next major platform that will supersede mobile internet.
Why is Facebook considering changing its name?
There are a few key reasons why Facebook may change its name:
- To distance itself from the growing controversies surrounding the Facebook brand name
- To reflect the company’s focus on building the metaverse and virtual/augmented reality technology
- To encompass Facebook’s wider family of products and services beyond just the Facebook social media platform (WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, etc.)
A rebranding would allow Facebook to craft a new brand identity focused on the metaverse that is untarnished by the past PR crises of Facebook’s social media platform. The new parent company name could better represent Facebook’s future vision beyond just social media.
What names is Facebook considering?
Based on leaked documents and reports, a few potential new name options that Facebook is considering are:
- Meta
- Horizon
- Portal
Meta would refer to Facebook’s metaverse efforts, while Horizon is the name of Facebook’s current metaverse platform. Portal refers to Facebook’s video calling devices.
Meta
Meta would be a simple rebrand that highlights the company’s focus on the metaverse. The word “meta” has meaning in technology, referring to something itself evolving into a new level (ex: metadata). Meta captures Facebook’s goal of transcending beyond just social media.
Horizon
Horizon is the name of the workspace platform that Facebook is building for collaborating in the metaverse. Naming the parent company Horizon would signal that this platform is core to the company’s future. However, Horizon lacks recognition outside of Facebook’s current metaverse efforts.
Portal
Portal is Facebook’s line of smart video calling devices. The name refers to the portals represented on these devices that can transport people together virtually. While Portal directly ties into Facebook’s products, it does not encompass the company’s full range of consumer offerings.
How would the rebranding work?
Facebook would remain the name of the core social media platform, but the parent company that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus would change its name. This parent company currently has the corporate name of just Facebook, Inc.
Structurally, the rebranding would work similarly to how Google reorganized in 2015:
- Parent company renamed to Alphabet
- Google remains a subsidiary handling search and advertising
- Other subsidiaries (ex: Waymo, Calico) sit under Alphabet
Facebook would follow a comparable model, with the parent company getting a new name, but Facebook the social media platform remaining core to the business.
Example Facebook rebrand structure
| Parent Company | Subsidiaries |
|---|---|
| Meta |
|
This would allow the parent company to take on a new identity focused on the metaverse, while Facebook could still remain the name of the app people use to connect with friends and family.
When will Facebook announce a new name?
Facebook is planning to announce its new corporate name at its annual Connect conference on October 28, 2021.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been teasing major announcements around what he sees as the next generation of the internet at this event. The rebranding and new parent company name reveal would be the flagship announcement.
This name change has been in the works for over a year now, as Facebook started feeling the brand toxicity of the Facebook name with controversies like Cambridge Analytica, data privacy issues, and the impact of social media on mental health.
The new parent company name and reorganization will formalize Facebook’s efforts to build its vision for the metaverse going forward.
October 28th Connect Conference
Details about Facebook’s rebranding plans will be unveiled at the Connect 2021 conference. This event focuses on Facebook’s AR, VR, and metaverse products. It is where Zuckerberg will officially announce the new direction and name for the parent company.
The name change is expected to go into effect in late 2021 once officially announced. But Facebook will take time to roll out the new branding across its products and services globally.
What does this mean for the future of Facebook?
This rebranding signals that Facebook sees its future being beyond just social media. Some key implications include:
- The metaverse will be Facebook’s core strategic focus
- More investment into VR/AR platforms and devices
- Potential for greater integration between Facebook’s apps and metaverse activities
- Further diversification beyond social media into new technologies
But Facebook’s core money-maker of selling social media ads via Facebook and Instagram isn’t going away. Social media revenue will continue funding Facebook’s growth into the metaverse.
Doubling-down on metaverse ambitions
This name change cements that the metaverse is the future Facebook is staking its business on. While social media remains highly profitable currently, Facebook sees the metaverse as the long-term opportunity.
Just as mobile phones surpassed desktop PCs, Facebook is positioning itself at the forefront of the platform shift to the immersive, 3D internet. The new branding reflects this strategic bet.
Continued AR/VR investment
Hardware like Oculus and technologies like Horizon will see increasingly fast investment and development under a metaverse-centric parent company. Facebook is already investing billions into this area.
The company believes VR headsets could reach iPhone-like ubiquity in the next decade as the key interface for the metaverse. A renamed parent company validates that massive R&D spending.
Tighter integration of apps with metaverse
A metaverse-focused rebrand could lead to tighter integration between Facebook’s social apps and its VR/AR platforms.
Features enabling social presence and connections in the metaverse are likely to be added to Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook to enable persistent user identities across both physical and virtual worlds.
Further expansion beyond social media
The new parent company name signals Facebook’s ambition to diversify its product mix beyond just social media. While ads will remain highly lucrative, Facebook is priming itself to capitalize on major platform shifts to remain relevant.
This rebrand sets the stage for more moonshot bets by Facebook in emerging technologies like AI, VR, AR, blockchain, and more in the coming years.
Conclusion
Facebook’s planned renaming to reflect its metaverse vision underscores the company’s expectation that virtual and augmented realities will be the next major computing platform.
This represents both Facebook’s immense ambition to shape the future of technology according to its vision, and the challenges facing its core social media business. By establishing a new parent company identity focused on the metaverse, Facebook is attempting to write its next chapter.
While name changes are mostly superficial, the symbolism of this rebranding indicates Facebook sees its legacy as tied to VR/AR and the convergence of physical and digital worlds. Rather than just a social media company, Facebook wishes to be seen as building the operating system of the future.
The ultimate success of this hinges on whether virtual worlds truly become mainstream. But by committing itself to this costly, uncertain bet, Facebook is signaling its intent to remain relevant for decades to come, with or without its flagship Facebook brand.