Facebook will rebrand with new name as it looks to future products, report suggests

Date:
Wed, 20 Oct 2021 05:42:46 +0000

Description:
A new report suggests Facebook wants to rebrand with a new name as it looks
to the metaverse, and combats a brand crisis.

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Facebook will soon change its name, a new report suggests, as it seeks to demonstrate that it has expanded beyond its social media roots, and has its sights firmly set on creating future products such as the metaverse .

According to The Verge , its as yet unclear whether the name change will come to the Facebook platform itself, or whether the rebranding will take the form of a new parent company for Facebook to sit under, alongside other Facebook-owned brands including Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus.

The Verges report quotes a source with direct knowledge of the matter, who claims Facebooks founder Mark Zuckerberg will discuss the name change at the upcoming Facebook Connect conference on October 28.

TechRadar reached out to Facebook for comment on the matter, though a spokesperson for the company would only say: We dont comment on rumor or speculation. 'Taking a break' from Instagram isn't as easy as Facebook says Facebooks smart glasses arent as innovative as we hoped yet How to use Facebook dark mode Our take: Facebook by any other name

It makes sense that Facebook would want to rebrand to better reflect the various products and brands it now runs, such as the virtual-reality focused Oculus. We saw a similar strategy back in 2015 when Google restructured and created a new parent company for itself named Alphabet, with the Google suite of products and services becoming a subsidiary under that new parent.

Six years on, its safe to say the DNA of Google hasnt changed all that much, and similarly, the creation of a new parent company for Facebook may have little effect on Facebooks current range of products and services, and is likely more focused on future ambitions.

With that said, it must be acknowledged that Facebook is in the midst of a brand crisis. Last month, The Wall Street Journal released The Facebook Files
a controversial set of leaked documents that showed Facebook had conducted its own research into Instagrams negative impact on the mental health of teenagers.

The whistleblower soon revealed herself as former Facebook employee, Frances Haugen, who has since testified to the United States Senate regarding what
she claims are harmful practices at the social giant.

If Mark Zuckerberg is to announce plans to change the name of Facebook on October 28, it's also a convenient excuse to put some space between the companys other brands and the dark reputation its social media platform has earned. Facebook is hiring 10,000 new workers to help build the metaverse



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/facebook-will-rebrand-with-new-name-as-it-looks -to-future-products-report-suggests/


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