Published , by Chris Jarrard
Published , by Chris Jarrard
Near the end of today’s Facebook Connect 2021 presentation, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will be going by a new name, Meta. The company says the change is to represent the goals and aspirations of the company.
“We are a company that builds technology to connect,” Zuckerberg said. “Together, we can finally put people at the center of our technology. And together, we can unlock a massively bigger creator economy - to reflect who we are and what we hope to build.”
Zuckerberg says that the Facebook name served the company well in its early days, but fails to cover all the various markets and technologies the company is working with. “Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product,” the Facebook CEO explained. “But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company.”
We first reported on rumors that Facebook would be changing its name last week. While Zuckerberg emphatically contends that the name change is in service of its expansion into an online metaverse, rebranding also serves to distance the social media giant from years of bad press.
In recent weeks, Zuckerberg and Facebook have come under fire as former employee Frances Haugen brought private company practices to light. On Monday, a collection of internal company documents, sourced by Haugen, were spread amongst news organizations. These documents were collectively dubbed the Facebook Papers. The documents corroborate claims that Facebook knew it was actively spreading misinformation and hate speech through its platforms.
For more news and developments out of today’s Facebook Connect 2021 presentation, keep checking in with us here at Shacknews.