Facebook has now rebranded, changing its company's name to Meta, though the company's signature social media platform will retain the name Facebook. The company's shares are set to begin trading under the new ticker, MVRS, on Dec.1.
During the Facebook Connect event, Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement that Facebook would change its company name to Meta, reflecting Zuckerberg's focus on the metaverse, which can be thought of as a virtual world that is a "successor to the mobile internet." He said he wants the metaverse to feel "like you're right there with another person."
What is Metaverse?
The metaverse is a term coined in the dystopian novel "Snow Crash" three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley. It refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual realm that can be accessed by people using different devices. according to Reuters.
Zuckerberg said the new name, coming from the Greek word for "beyond," symbolized there was always more to build.
He said it also reflects that over time, users will not need to use Facebook to use the company's other services.
In addition to a new ticker symbol, Facebook has replaced the thumbs-up sign at its headquarters with a blue infinity sign. On the name change, Zuckerberg said Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything that we're doing today, let alone in the future.
What Metaverse will be like
Zuckerberg also shares some details about the metaverse he envisions. There are plans to allow for people to be able to make calls via VR, as well as to use apps like Slack and Instagram. Other plans include making Horizon more "social, allowing friends to gather," as well as plans for a virtual marketplace with virtual goods (i.e. NFTs) that users can buy, sell, and exchange. On the augmented reality front, Facebook plans to offer hand and body tracking to its Spark AR developer tools.
He showed video demos of what the metaverse could look like, with people connecting as avatars and being transported to digital versions of various places and time periods. He claimed that the metaverse would need to be built with safety and privacy in mind.
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