Why Facebook has changed its name to Meta – meaning explained

Facebook has taken some of its users by surprise following a recent announcement. The company, which administers several highly popular social media platforms, including its namesake, WhatsApp and Instagram, is refreshing its brand. The new name – Meta – was announced today by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Why has Facebook changed its name?

According to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook is changing its name to reflect its growing social media empire. 

In an announcement via the Facebook Connect conference, the CEO said he hoped his organisation would garner attention as a “metaverse” company, hence the name. 

He 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.”

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“Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards.

“We just announced that we were making a fundamental change to our company.

“We’re now looking at and reporting on our business as two different segments, one for our family of apps, and one for our work on future platforms.

“And as part of this, it is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do to reflect who we are and what we hope to build.”

“I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta.”

Among reasons behind the name change is Mr Zuckerberg’s love of classics, he mentioned. 

Speaking at the conference, he said the Greek word – which means “beyond” – “symbolizes that there is always more to build”.

The rebrand is the second in Facebook’s 15-year history.

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The company debuted as “The Facebook”, and Mr Zuckerberg changed the name to its now previous configuration in 2005. 

Users have shown mixed reactions to the announcement, with some poking fun at the name. 

Writing via Twitter, musician Michael Moran wrote: “Doris? I’m friends with her on Facebook but I’ve never actually Meta.”

Gambling Apes, an NFT account on Twitter, was among those hailing the meta verse.

The platform responded to the announcement saying: Wow, this is huge!! We are super early guys! If you are involved in the Metaverse space you are part of history!

Others took the opportunity to issue warnings about potential misuse given its new focus on virtual reality. 

One user, Marianne Williamson, wrote that the decision could create “a fast track to the worst things possible”, however.

She said she feared VR could allow people to “create holograms of the prez talking, for instance”.

source: express.co.uk