Closing the Chapter on Facebook

Did you know that Facebook changed their company name to Meta?

“I believe Facebook decided to change its name primarily because of the furor triggered by the Facebook Papers as unfair,” said senior Jessica Pedone, PR & Advertising student.

“I think their new meta vision is another reason why they would change their name. Still, their vision is a PR move to show they are rebranding, having a different mission and vision for the company to get away from the negative publicity and crisis they have been under.”

On Oct. 28, Facebook announced that the company would be changing their name to Meta despite some recent controversies including the Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who released many of their internal documents to the public.

According to the Associated Press, “CEO Mark Zuckerberg has largely dismissed the furor triggered by the Facebook Papers as unfair. Although the trove of leaked documents has plunged the company into the biggest crisis since it was founded in Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room 17 years ago.”

While Facebook is not the first company to change their look, the company’s response to rebrand after a controversy follows a similar pattern to some others.

According to the Associated Press, in 2018, “Weight Watchers switched to its initials (WW) in an effort to get away from the idea that it is a diet company, as people increasingly became aware dieting isn’t healthy and that weight isn’t necessarily tied to overall wellness.”

Facebook’s new company name Meta is derived from the term “metaverse.”

According to the Associated Press, “Zuckerberg has described the metaverse as a ‘virtual environment’ that you can go inside of – instead of just looking at on a screen. Essentially, it’s a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps, or other devices.”

The other companies under Facebook, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, will remain the same, but the Oculus, a virtual reality headset, will soon be known as Meta Quest.

“The Oculus Quest is a game-changer,” said senior Mikey Mafia. “I got it for Christmas last year, and my housemates and I play it all the time. If you have never tried VR before, you will be blown away. The level of immersion does not compare to playing any game on console or PC.”

According to an interview with Zuckerberg in The Verge, “We’re working on making it so you can log in to Quest with an account other than your personal Facebook account.”

However, despite all of the name changes within Facebook, some students believe that the company is trying to distract from all of their recent controversies.

“The name doesn’t bother me,” said sophomore Julia Palermo. “What bothers me is that the company is trying to change the headlines instead of just addressing the problem in the first place. I feel they are trying to cover the issue instead of dealing with it.”

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