Highlights:
- The renaming will most likely show Facebook’s app as one of the numerous products under a parent company’s umbrella.
- The branding of the original Facebook app and service may stay unaltered.
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to address the name change during the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28.
The Verge reported on Tuesday that social media behemoth Facebook Inc is going to rebrand itself with a new name next week, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
During the company’s annual Connect conference on October. 28, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, according to the Verge report, plans to discuss the new name, but it might be unveiled sooner.
The announcement comes at a time when the firm is under growing investigation from the US government for its business practices. Lawmakers from both parties have criticised Facebook, underscoring Congress’ increasing distrust for the company.
According to Verge, the rebranding would position Facebook’s social network programme as one of several products managed by a parent company that would also oversee Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and other groups.
It’s fairly not new for the companies in Silicon Valley to alter their names in order to expand their services.
In 2015, Google formed Alphabet Inc as a holding company to handle a variety of different ventures ranging from its autonomous car unit and health technologies to delivering internet services in remote areas.
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According to the report, the rebranding would also reflect Facebook’s focus on developing metaverse, an online world where people can utilise various devices to move and interact in a virtual environment.
Facebook has made significant investments in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), with the goal of connecting its almost three billion users via a variety of devices and apps.
It unveiled plans on Tuesday to generate 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years to assist in the development of this metaverse.
Since July, Zuckerberg has been promoting the term “metaverse,” which was coined in a dystopian novel three decades ago and has been used by other internet companies such as Microsoft. According to Verge, a possible name for the company might be something related to Horizon. Facebook just changed its in-development VR game platform, previously known as ‘Horizon,’ to ‘Horizon Worlds.’