At the Facebook Connect augmented and virtual reality conference held on 28 October 2021, Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that the brand had changed its name to Meta.
The reason behind this major change is the company’s new focus on “building the metaverse.” Despite this, the name of the social network giant will still be called Facebook (the brand will only replace its “Like” logo with the new Meta logo — a blue infinity shape).
What does the term metaverse represent?
In essence, it refers to virtual reality, which can be accessed via different devices.
Zuckerberg stated in his letter that he hopes that within the next 10 years, the metaverse will support jobs for millions of developers and creators through digital commerce. He also believes that the metaverse will replace the mobile internet.
In addition to that, the company will change its stock name from FB to MVRS (effective December 1).
Furthermore, Meta announced the release of its new virtual reality headset, Project Cambria, which will be released in 2022. At the same time, Meta’s first fully AR smart glasses, Project Nazare, is still “a few years out.”
Within the next five years, Meta is planning to hire 10,000 workers from Europe to work on its hardware division, Reality Labs, responsible for creating VR and AR devices.
Facebook, now Meta, is one of the largest social media brands, with “Most Liked Fan Pages” in 2020 and in 2021. How this change will affect its users and overall business is yet to be seen.