Will Facebook's name change make any difference?

Posted Nov. 18, 2021

By Daryna Bosyuk

Staff Editor

Facebook has been rebranded as Meta by CEO Mark Zuckerburg at their Facebook Connect event on Oct. 2.

“We are a company that builds technology to connect,” said Zuckerberg. “Together, we can finally put people at the center of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy.”

Zuckerberg’s goal is to transition from being a social media company to become a metaverse company. The Facebook app will still remain as ‘Facebook.’ The new project will be a combination of online social experiences and new three dimensional experiences projected physically. Presence Platform was introduced as a tool to have new mixed experiences on Quest 2. An investment of $150 million was made to teach and train future creators. To build the metaverse, the company plans on hiring 10,000 employees in Europe over a period of five years.

“Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses,” states their official website.

To ensure product responsibility, $50 million was invested into global research with program partners. Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital will research digital literacy in young people and Everfi will develop Get Digital XR, a program for people ages 13 and up that promotes safety in the metaverse. Meta will also work with global partners like Colorintech (UK), Alte Nationalgalerie (Germany), and Peres Center for Peace and Innovation (Israel) to facilitate competition and encourage creators while unlocking economic and social opportunities. To learn more about their programs, visit meta.com.

The company’s original structure will remain, but their fiscal reporting will change. They will now be reporting in two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality labs beginning the fourth quarter of 2021. They will also begin trading under a new stock ticker: MVRS beginning on Dec. 1.

Investors of the company were informed that a $10 billion bite was taken out of their operating profit this year to spend on virtual reality products and services. Meta currently includes the Facebook app, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp, Oculus, Workplace, Portal, and Novi.

One of the biggest challenges to the Facebook app was the lack of young users. As the user base aged, Facebook wasn’t able to attract new customers with competitive apps like Tik Tok. The focus of the company with Meta is to attract 18-29 year olds instead of the original Facebook app users.