Since its inception, Facebook Inc has been one of the biggest trailblazers in the social media landscape. The concept of connecting with loved ones when it’s not practically possible to stay connected through phone calls took the world’s population by surprise, precisely because it was unchartered territory all along. However, on October 28th, 2021, at the company’s annual conference, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg took the world by storm when he announced the change of name from ‘Facebook’ to ‘Meta.’ The change was accompanied by a revamped logo designed in the form of an infinity-shaped symbol. Facebook and its other associated apps, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, would remain under the Meta umbrella. This move was in alignment with Zuckerberg’s desire to reposition the tech company around the Metaverse, which he saw as a key area of growth in the future.
What is Metaverse?
Zuckerberg shared his commitment to invest in the advent of a 3D virtual world called the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a collaborative immersive digital space where users interact as avatars or holograms. It can be described as a virtual environment that one can go inside instead of just looking at it from a screen on the outside. It is a world of interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play using headsets and augmented reality glasses. The firm intends to invest 10 billion dollars in 2022 in collective 3D virtual worlds. Recruitment of 10,000 people in Europe over the next five years was also announced to have a focused workforce for creating the Metaverse. Over the next decade, the Metaverse is likely to materialize fully, according to Zuckerberg.
What can a name change do?
The timing of the change comes with a number of advantages. Analysts believe that Meta is a positive and forward-looking move for the company as it focuses on the evolution of the Metaverse concept. The top management at Facebook Inc aims to make the company really reflect everything they want to be and all they want to build in the social media landscape. The change of name to ‘Meta’ is a step ahead in this direction.
Another important angle to understand the reason for this name change is the intense scrutiny that Facebook has been grappling with. There are major concerns around data protection and privacy policy as far as user information is concerned. Changing the name is part of a corporate rebranding strategy that large organizations execute to mitigate some of the bad press that the firm invites and to distance themselves from a negative reputation. However, Nicholas Clegg, Vice President of Global Policy and communication, has refuted these claims and comparisons.
For several months prior to the big announcement, Facebook had been building up to the name change. In 2020, Last year, it released its newest virtual-reality headset, the Oculus Quest 2. In August, it launched a virtual-reality service called Horizon Workrooms. In this virtual meeting room, people who would be using the virtual-reality headsets can come together as if they were at a physical, in-person work meeting. And in September 2020, it announced a new eyewear collection in collaboration with Ray-Ban, which can record videos. All these products are being called pieces of the Metaverse.
This movement also shows a futuristic perspective from Mark Zuckerberg to propel growth at a time when apps like Tik-Tok were believed to be surpassing Facebook and showing faster growth. Clearly, a new strategy is behind the new branding, and it is not a casual facelift after a spate of negative reactions to its never-ending security issues.
Rebranding by other large conglomerates
In 2015, Google restructured itself under a new parent company, Alphabet, dividing itself into separate companies to differentiate its internet search business. In 2011, Netflix briefly announced plans to rename its DVD-by-mail division as Qwikster.
The Facebook social network is a part of what has become a multidimensional company. The company has outgrown what it originally started with, with just one segment of its operations. As long as the whole business carried the name Facebook, it appeared to be an organization run by a single goal, which is no longer is.
Positioning itself as a conglomerate might prove to be one way Meta aims to gain protection from heightened antitrust scrutiny. But since the corporate structure really hasn’t changed, it remains to be seen whether the new helps protect the company from regulators.
About SNS
Secure Network Solutions (SNS) provides a quantifiable, risk-based approach to building a global structure of cybersecurity, based on internationally recognized frameworks and practices. We have been providing services and catering to clients across industries for the last 20 years. Write to us at [email protected].
