Facebook's rumoured name change sparks adverse reactions on social media

Facebook, the world's most popular social networking platform, is preparing a rebranding next week. According to The Verge, the company is considering changing its name to reflect its focus on the metaverse, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation. The name change, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg hopes to discuss at the company's annual Connect conference on October 28 but could be announced sooner, is designed to signify the tech giant's aim to be known for something other than social media and all of its associated platforms.

The rebranding would most likely present the blue Facebook app as one of many products managed by a parent business that also oversees Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and other companies. Facebook currently has over 10,000 staff working on consumer devices such as augmented reality glasses, which Zuckerberg expects will become as common as smartphones in the future. In July, he told The Verge that they will effectively move from being mostly viewed as a social network company to being primarily viewed as a metaverse firm over the next several years.

Facebook name change gets adverse reactions on Twitter

Netizens reactions over Twitter have been blowing up since the announcement. A renaming might also help to further differentiate Zuckerberg's futuristic work from the tremendous criticism Facebook is presently facing issues over its social platform's current operations. A lot of reactions are taunts towards the algorithm and its usage in social and political situations. 

Facebook isn't the only well-known technology business to alter its name as its goals develop. Google reorganised altogether under the Alphabet holding company in 2015, partly to show that it was no longer just a search engine, but a huge conglomerate with subsidiaries developing self-driving cars and health technology. In 2016, Snapchat changed its name to Snap Inc., the same year it began referring to itself as a "camera company" and unveiled its first set of Spectacles camera spectacles.

Possible name Horizon

The new Facebook corporate name, according to The Verge, is a highly guarded secret within Facebook's gates and is not widely recognised, even within the firm's whole top leadership. Horizon, the name of the company's still-unreleased VR version of Facebook-meets-Roblox that has been in development for several years, could be a candidate. Shortly after Facebook demoed a version for workplace collaboration dubbed Horizon Workrooms, the app's name was changed to Horizon Worlds.

Facebook has been quietly setting the groundwork for a bigger emphasis on future technology. It established a specialised metaverse team this past summer. Andrew Bosworth, the company's head of AR and VR, has recently been promoted to chief technology officer. Facebook just announced plans to hire 10,000 more people in Europe to work on the metaverse a few days ago. The metaverse will be a significant focus, and it'll just be a big part of the next chapter for how the internet progresses after the mobile internet, Zuckerberg told Casey Newton of The Verge last summer. Zuckerberg went on to say that it will be the company's next big chapter as well, doubling down in this area.

With inputs from ANI

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