Facebook is about to change its name to another that better reflects its commitment to the metaverse and augmented reality.
The new name is a well-kept secret within the company, and only Mark Zuckerberg and senior managers know about it; Even so, they have not managed to get the plans leaked to The Verge , which has managed to speak with internal company sources.
Facebook plans to make the big announcement on October 28 , on the occasion of the Facebook Connect conference, but it could happen sooner; it is a strategic weapon, as the company wants to use the name change to change public perception.
Officially, the name change will occur because Facebook is no longer just a social media company . The new ‘ metaverse ‘, which will remove the barriers between the real and virtual world, is his new bet and he wants his name to reflect this. In addition, Facebook has launched or is about to launch several augmented reality devices on which this change will be supported; Ray-Ban smart glasses were just the beginning, and Facebook is already working on a new model capable of displaying information from the world around us.
But nobody is aware that “Facebook” has become a toxic brand , associated with a multitude of controversies and problems related to privacy. The last month was especially bad, with the release of internal documents that reveal that the company is aware of the negative effect its algorithms have on our lives.
The conference is expected to serve as a full stop , an attempt to put all those scandals behind in favor of a fresh future, a new bid for something completely different. And that needs a new brand.
This does not mean that Facebook is going to disappear. Zuckerberg is expected to follow in the footsteps of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, creating a parent company that houses all of the company’s brands , just as Google became part of Alphabet along with the rest of the startups it founded throughout its life. history.
In the same way, Facebook will become another brand together with WhatsApp, Instagram and the rest, dedicated exclusively to the social network and nothing else; Thus, it is possible that the Facebook brand disappears from the WhatsApp and Instagram apps, something that was very controversial in its day.