Hereafter, Facebook will be known as Meta

The social media giant Facebook announced a major rebranding decision. Hereafter, the corporate name of Facebook will be Meta. However, the change is only for the parent company, and individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will remain the same in the name.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the new name as he unveiled plans to build a “metaverse” – an online world where people can game, work, and communicate in a virtual environment, often using VR headsets.  “The existing brand could not possibly represent everything that we’re doing today, let alone in the future, and needed to change- He added. The word “Meta” is Greek in origin and represents “beyond”.

“Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards,” he told a virtual conference.

“We’re now looking at and reporting on our business as two different segments, one for our family of apps, and one for our work on future platforms. “And as part of this, it is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do, to reflect who we are and what we hope to build.”

The company said it would better “encompass” what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality (VR). The move is counted to be an aftermath of negative stories about Facebook, based on documents leaked by Frances Haugen who has accused the company of putting “profits over safety”.

Instead of being on a computer, people in a metaverse might use a headset to enter a virtual world connecting all sorts of digital environments. The new virtual world could be the future of the internet and is anticipated to be used for practically anything from work, play and concerts, to socializing with friends and family.

Facebook unveiled a new sign at its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday, replacing its thumbs-up “Like” logo with a blue infinity shape. Facebook also announced on intention to start trading its shares under the new stock ticker MVRS from 1 December.