Facebook announced on 28th October 2021 (Thursday) that it has rebranded its name to Meta. However, the Facebook app will remain its name.
At the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference, the name change was announced. The company’s expanding goals beyond social media are reflected in the new name. Facebook’s new rebrand, Meta, is based on the sci-fi phrase metaverse, and it describes the company’s ambition for working and playing in a virtual world.
In a recent earnings call, the CEO stated, “Within the metaverse, you’ll be able to hang out, play games with friends, work, create, and more.” “You’ll be able to do everything you can on the internet now, as well as certain things that don’t make sense on the internet today, like dancing,” says the author.
1. What is Metaverse?
There is no one creator or definition for the metaverse. It’s roughly defined as a digital environment like the World Wide Web (www), but with elements of social media, augmented reality, online gaming, and cryptocurrencies to let users to act and communicate virtually. While the concept is still in its early stages, it has enormous promise. Jensen Hang, CEO of computer graphics chipmaker NVIDIA, has stated, “I’m very certain at this time that the metaverse is going to be a new economy that is larger than our existing economy.”
2. Why Is Facebook Rebranding to Meta?
Zuckerberg controls the Twitter Handle @meta as well as meta.com, which now leads to a Facebook welcome page describing the changes. A biomedical research discovery engine developed by the Chan Zuckerberg Science Initiative. That’s part of the philanthropic arm that Zuckerberg and his physician wife, Priscilla Chan, co-founded in 2015.
The rebrand is part of the firm’s effort to move away from being known solely as a social media company and instead focus on Zuckerberg’s metaverse plans. In July, he told The Verge that Facebook would “essentially transition from people seeing us as largely a social media company to being a metaverse company” over the next several years.In a blog post published Thursday, Zuckerberg stated that the company’s organisational structure will not change, but how it presents financial results would.
3. What are their new projects?
In addition, Meta introduced Project Cambria, a new virtual reality headgear. According to the business in a blog post, the device will be a high-end product with a higher price tag than the $299 Quest 2 headset. According to Zuckerberg, Project Cambria will be unveiled next year.
Project Nazare is the code name for Meta’s first completely AR-capable smart eyewear. In a blog post, the business stated that the spectacles are “still a few years away.” “We still have a ways to go with Nazare,” Zuckerberg remarked, “but we’re making good progress.”
4. Why is Facebook operating in this manner?
This spectacular initiative, at the very least, diverts attention away from Facebook’s never-ending avalanche of bad headlines. For years, the social media behemoth has been chastised for fostering the spread of false information and for its ambiguous data privacy policies. After a whistleblower revealed several of the company’s secrets, things have only become worse in recent months.
At the same time, the social media network is losing popularity among younger users. Instead, many people are flocking to TikTok, a Chinese-owned video app. Facebook makes money by selling marketers targeted adverts. However, if the number of users declines, so will advertising revenue.
5. Will they succeed with this new rebranding?
If Facebook wants to stay in the game, this might be the time to disassociate itself off of its dependency on targeted advertising. Over the last 18 months, there has been a growing drive to regulate the digital behemoth, notably in the area of user data privacy, which might stifle its ability to make money.
The fact that Facebook’s growth in the second quarter of 2021 was lower than predicted underscored this point. This, according to Zuckerberg, is due to changes to iPhone maker Apple’s privacy policies, which now allow users to opt out of being monitored for advertising purposes by third parties.
Moving into the metaverses’ unknown region offers significant difficulties. According to Facebook, at least 12 big technology breakthroughs are required to succeed. It’s possible that the entire movement will implode.However, in terms of the market, it’s still a regulatory Wild West, similar to the early days of the internet and social media, and adventurous tech companies see a chance to profit before regulators catch up.
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