Facebook to rebrand its official corporate name from ‘Facebook’ to ‘Metaverse,’ says The Verge

Seventeen years after Facebook was launched as an idea that was hatched in a Harvard dorm to becoming one of the most powerful and influential companies in the world, the social giant now thinks it’s time for a name change.

In a move that in some ways resembles Google’s big corporate re-brand to ‘Alphabet’ in 2015, Facebook is reportedly just days away from unveiling a major corporate rebranding its official corporate name from ‘Facebook’ to ‘Metaverse,’ according to a report from The Verge, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The Verge reported that Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse. The Verge further noted that “the rebrand would likely position the blue Facebook app as one of many products under a parent company overseeing groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and more.”

The source at Facebook also told the Verge that the decision is meant to “signal the tech giant’s ambition to be known for more than social media and all the ills that entail.” The rebranding is expected to be announced on October 28th or sooner.

“The coming name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to talk about at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28th, but could unveil sooner, is meant to signal the tech giant’s ambition to be known for more than social media and all the ills that entail. The rebrand would likely position the blue Facebook app as one of many products under a parent company overseeing groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and more. A spokesperson for Facebook declined to comment for this story.”

The Verge Editor-in-chief  Nilay Patel also shared the news on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/reckless/status/1450647074937180162

The term “metaverse,” was originally coined in the 1992 dystopian novel “Snow Crash.” It’s used to describe immersive, shared spaces accessed across different platforms where the physical and digital converge. It is a virtual reality version of the internet that Facebook sees as the future. The metaverse has many use cases.

Metaverse is the latest tech buzzword that has been dominating headlines since the beginning of this year. Just yesterday, Facebook announced the company plans to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to build a “metaverse.”

In a blog post last week, Facebook said, “The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social, and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be shaping it right from the start.”