Facebook: What’s in a name?

Facebook: What's in a name?
Facebook: What's in a name?
Avatar of Harry Johnson
Written by Harry Johnson

The rebranding would position Facebook’s social media app as one of many products under a parent company, which will also oversee groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and more.

  • The talk about Facebook name change will take place at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28.
  • Facebook is facing mounting government scrutiny in the United States over its questionable business practices.
  • Facebook declined to comment on the news, calling them “rumors and speculations”.

Chief Executive Officer of US social media giant Facebook Inc, Mark Zuckerberg, is planning to rebrand the company with a new name next week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter reports.

The talk about the name change will take place at the company’s annual Connect conference on October 28.

In response to potential name change news, Facebook snapped that is has “no comment” to what it called “rumor or speculation”.

The name-changing news comes at a time when Facebook is facing mounting government scrutiny in the United States over its questionable business practices.

US legislators from both Democratic and Republican parties have excoriated the company, illustrating the rising anger in Congress with Facebook.

According to the sources, the rebranding would position Facebook’s social media app as one of many products under a parent company, which will also oversee groups like Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and more.

It is not uncommon in Silicon Valley for companies to change their names as they bid to expand their services.

Google established Alphabet Inc as a holding company in 2015 to expand beyond its search and advertising businesses, to oversee various other ventures ranging from its autonomous vehicle unit and health technology to providing internet services in remote areas.

The move to rebrand will also reflect Facebook’s focus on building the so-called metaverse, an online world where people can use different devices to move and communicate in a virtual environment, according to the report.

Facebook has invested heavily in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) and intends to connect its nearly three billion users through several devices and apps. On Tuesday, the company announced plans to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years to help build the metaverse.

Zuckerberg has been talking up metaverse since July when he said that the key to Facebook’s future lies with the metaverse concept – the idea that users will live, work and exercise inside a virtual universe. The company’s Oculus virtual reality headsets and service are an instrumental part of realizing that vision.

The buzzy word, first coined in a dystopian novel three decades earlier, has been referenced by other tech firms such as Microsoft.

About the author

Avatar of Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson

Harry Johnson has been the assignment editor for eTurboNews for mroe than 20 years. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is originally from Europe. He enjoys writing and covering the news.

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