Facebook renames itself ‘Meta’ in preparation for the metaverse

Facebook said Thursday at its Facebook Connect event that it’ll rebrand itself as “Meta” to emphasize its newfound obsession with the metaverse—a digital space for work and play that may be accessed using mixed reality glasses and other devices. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our identity as an iconic social networking brand,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. “Right now our brand is so tightly linked to one product.” “Over time I want us to be seen as a metaverse company,” the CEO said. [Screenshot: Facebook]The company set the stage for this move earlier this week by saying it would begin announcing earnings as two separate divisions—one for all its existing apps, and one for all its efforts to build foundational technologies for the metaverse. Zuckerberg said the tech industry’s main focus has been on the smartphone, and innovation has been too tightly controlled. Presumably, he’s referring to gatekeepers like Apple and Google that run the app stores. “Our devices are still designed around apps, not people,” he said. [Screenshot: Facebook]“The metaverse gives us the opportunity to change that,” he said. Dr. Michael Abrash, who leads Facebook’s research on the metaverse, says that a dozen technological breakthroughs will need to happen before his company can finally build a set of AR glasses that will allow them to spend extended periods of time in the metaverse.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90691334/facebook-meta-new-name?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Created 4y | Oct 28, 2021, 7:21:47 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

TikTok users are exposing their worst exes—all to the soundtrack of Lorde’s new single

The latest TikTok trend has people exposing their terrible exes and most toxic relationship stories to Lorde’s new single “ ">Man of the Ye

Jun 13, 2025, 9:50:03 PM | Fast company - tech
Trump’s ‘gold card’ visa scheme is pure gilded nonsense

President Donald Trump announced, back on February 25, that his administration would soon debut a “gold card,” an immigration program that would allow wealthy foreigners, for the low, low price of

Jun 13, 2025, 7:30:05 PM | Fast company - tech
How singles are using AI to improve their online dating success

Singles are increasingly turning to AI to boost their odds in the dating world.

According to a new study, just over a quarter (26%) of singles are using artificial intelligence to enhanc

Jun 13, 2025, 7:30:04 PM | Fast company - tech
Can AI fact-check its own lies?

As AI car crashes go, the recent publishing of a

Jun 13, 2025, 5:10:07 PM | Fast company - tech
‘Guys, the sea literally opened up’: AI-generated Bible characters are taking over TikTok

The Bible is now on TikTok, vlog-style.

Picture David—yes, that David, of Goliath fame—with an iPhone and influencer energy. “Asked the guy to film it, but guess what? The camera froze,”

Jun 13, 2025, 2:50:05 PM | Fast company - tech
I write novels and build AI. The real story is more complicated than either side admits

“In three years,” a fellow tech executive recently told me with serene confidence, “Everyone will be able to make a full-length movie in AI, totally personalized for them, by just typing up a few

Jun 13, 2025, 2:50:04 PM | Fast company - tech
This 1999 email from a tech pioneer helped me think about Apple’s WWDC

In 1999, I got to work on a literally once-in-a-lifetime project. As the 20th century was wrapping up, the magazine where I worked declared the personal computer the most important invention of th

Jun 13, 2025, 2:50:03 PM | Fast company - tech