Last week, Facebook revealed that it was rebranding itself as “Meta.” The new name is a reference to the “ Metaverse ,” a term that will be used for connected virtual reality experiences, which Facebook Meta is investing a lot of time and money into.
But now that the dust has settled, what do you think about the new name of the company?
The news came during Facebook's "Connect" live streaming, where the company talked about its efforts in augmented and virtual reality.
Jason Koebler beautifully described the event in a Vice article: "a delusional fever fever apparently stemming from some dystopian science fiction and misleading or completely fabricated virtual reality product presentations of the last decade."
The event of course went through various social networks with some caustic posts, especially for a bottle of BBQ sauce that Zuckerberg had on a shelf.
why does he have sweet baby rays bbq on the decorative shelf pic.twitter.com/qyytoSjv0z
— conar (@subtoconnorpls) October 28, 2021
But beyond the jokes, it's hard to say that rebranding is anything other than a distraction from the fire that has ignited Facebook's problems.
The company has been heavily criticized for its lack of enforcement of its regulations on high-profile users , tax avoidance (like almost every other tech company), privacy policy changes on WhatsApp, permitted hate speech, and more.
The US Federal Trade Commission is also trying to reverse the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp by Facebook / Meta, but it is unlikely to succeed.
Note that the name change only applies to Facebook as a company. Facebook as a social network will continue to have the same name as Instagram, WhatsApp and other services. However, the company is renaming the virtual reality division from Oculus to Meta - and Oculus Quest devices are now Meta Quest.
So what do you think of the new name? Do you think Facebook could help withstand the crisis? Do you think that's a good move as the company reportedly focuses more on AR and VR content?
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
