Facebook, the social networking platform, may soon change its name and brand amid widespread of controversy.
The Verge reports that Facebook is planning to change its company name “to reflect its focus on building the metaverse.”
- The change could come as early as next week.
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will likely talk about the name change at the company’s annual Connect conference on Oct. 28, per The Verge.
- But the name could be released sooner to signal the company’s shift away from basic social media and toward the metaverse.
The move would likely make Facebook’s social media app one of several products — like Instagram and WhatsApp — under a wider company name. This is similar to what Google did when it became Alphabet back in 2015, according to The Associated Press.
Earlier this week, Facebook said it planned to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on the metaverse, a futuristic concept that blends the real world, augmented reality and virtual reality together.
- “No one company will own and operate the metaverse. Like the internet, its key feature will be its openness and interoperability,” the Facebook blog post said. “Bringing this to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators and policymakers. For Facebook, it will also require continued investment in product and tech talent, as well as growth across the business.”
The metaverse, for those still wondering, is a concept that blends augmented reality and virtual reality together. In many ways, it’s believed to be the future of the internet. Per BBC News, you could be wearing a virtual reality headset and experience a virtual world, living there with digital products, experience and currencies.
Fortnite — the battle royale video game — has been considered a leader in the metaverse space because of its connection to the real world, according to The Washington Post. People will flood to Fortnite to watch concerts of Ariana Grande or Travis Scott, for example, which creates an experience outside the real world.
- “In observing that pursuit, there’s the very real possibility that Fortnite, the video game that became a global phenomenon that turned celebrities into players and players into celebrities, has been building the foundations of the Internet’s future right before our glazed eyes,” The Washington Post reports.