Amidst the image crisis, Facebook changes its name and is now Meta

Zuckerberg says Meta, Facebook’s new name, means going beyond. Photo: Facebook.

Facebook Inc, the parent company of the social network of the same name, Whataspp and Instagram, will be renamed Meta Platform, or simply Meta. That’s what told today (28), its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, at the Facebook Connect conference. According to the founder of the largest social network in the world, the idea is to show that the company is now focused on metaverse and new technologies. However, the change comes amidst a series of image crisis.

Therefore, the possibility of this being a business and public relations strategy is not ruled out, at least in part, to create a fact and divert attention from the Facebook Papers. In them, there are signs of misuse of data on the network, including not fighting crimes and fake news, including in Brazil. In this way, they show that the company puts profits above fighting the spread of hate and false information.

Facebook social networks, WhatsApp e Instagram and Messenger will continue with the same names. The structure of the company will remain the same. But as of December 1st, the ticker of its stock on the stock exchange will be MVRS.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about our identity. Over time, I hope they see us as a metaverse company,” Zuckerberg said. According to him, “Goal can mean ‘beyond’ and captures our commitment to building social technologies that take us beyond what the digital connection makes possible today.” For him, the metaverse will reach a billion people in the next ten years.

Metaverse is seen by many as the successor of the internet. It is a digital “life” and for this new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality and in 3D are used. Facebook, ops, Meta, describes metaverse as virtual spaces where a company or person can create spaces and situations and interact with other people who are not in the same physical space.

Thus, using their avatar, the person will be on the internet. And you can, for example, buy and chat on a social network. Therefore, it will “live” within metaverses like what Facebook wants to do.

And for that, it will use devices such as augmented reality glasses. And cryptoactives like tokens representing goods and currencies are a possibility. By the way, there are blockchain projects that already consider acting in the metaverse.

In December of last year, the Pound currency, which is a creation of Facebook, also changed its name. Now Diem has earned this new brand after a series of criticisms from governments and regulators. It was branded as a bill that Zuckerberg announced without consulting regulators and to have a solid grip on international payments.

Just to remind you of another case of “rebranding” after a crisis, Odebrecht was renamed Novonor´. The company was one of the most accused of corruption in the Lava-Jato operation.

The point is that changing its name, even more keeping the Facebook brand for the social network, does not solve the company’s image problem Nor does it say that it looks to the future in metaverse.