Facebook is reportedly planning to change the company’s name as early as next week, as it moves towards building a metaverse and aims to present itself as more than just a social media company. However, the timing for this planned move seems a tad too opportune and seems a bit desperate as well. The past few weeks have been particularly taxing for the company’s reputation. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company is currently facing widespread criticism and is in the crosshairs of lawmakers after damning internal documents were leaked.
Whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed a host of questionable — and some downright unethical — measures that the company has taken over the years to run its social media empire that includes the eponymous platform, Instagram, and WhatsApp. For example, the company’s internal research reportedly knew about Instagram’s ill effects on the mental health of its teen users. Yet, the company ignored those signs and was even developing an ‘Instagram for Kids’ project to lock more users in their early phase of online social activity.
As per a report by The Verge, CEO Mark Zuckerberg will talk about the company’s impending rechristening at the annual Connect Conference that is scheduled for October 28. Details about Facebook’s plans are still unclear, but the company is likely taking the same route as Google. The search giant formed a parent company called Alphabet in 2015 that oversees all operations across products such as search, YouTube, and cloud to name a few. Experts speculate that Facebook will follow the same path and will likely create a parent company that will operate Facebook as just another product or division alongside Instagram, Oculus, and WhatsApp. Facebook already has an expanding metaverse team in place, and apparently doesn’t want the ‘Facebook’ brand associated with it from the get-go, given the current company’s current image.
More than just a distancing strategy, the company will also aim to convince investors about its grand metaverse plans and attract more investment by assuring them that the metaverse goals remain untouched by the Facebook brand's controversies. Facebook’s business has already taken a hit with Apple’s implementation of App Tracking Transparency. Ahead of its earnings call later this month, the company would ideally like to take the attention away from reduced ad revenue and towards some grand plans that include a name change.
Facebook has already taken the metaverse baby steps with its Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses and an AI project that learns from a human perspective. In the past, chief Zuckerberg has talked in detail about the autonomous economy potential of the metaverse and how it is going to be the next big leap in the internet age. As such, the company would want all the investor and creator support it can get to make sure Facebook’s social media failures don’t jeopardize those plans. And the best way to do it is by severing the bad affiliation and going ahead with a brand new name and image. Changing the name just might work the magic from a business perspective for Facebook.
But as a company that has been unrelenting when it comes to growth, the social platforms will tag along in the metaverse future too. Yes, the metaverse development will face more intense scrutiny from regulators and activists. But at the heart of every project are Facebook’s own ambitions of connecting everyone in this world by any means necessary. Take, for example, its ambitious cross-platform communication plans. It is already in place to some extent, allowing Instagram users to chat with someone on Messenger, without asking users to have both apps installed on their phone. And with a knack for vicious growth plans, all the ills such as online abuse, misinformation, neglect of users’ mental health, inadequate child safety measures, skewed policies, moderation issues, and poor oversight will carry forward into the metaverse unchallenged.
Facebook recently advertised its Horizon Workrooms as the most innocent implementation of the early metaverse. But down the road, social media experiences from Facebook and Instagram will inevitably migrate into the metaverse’s immersive world, alongside all their problems. And if anything, online abuse in the immersive AR and VR world of the metaverse is going to be more traumatic than a simple bad comment on Instagram. Given the company’s current trajectory, Facebook will take some time to make amends, if at all. And that only means one thing — the metaverse will be a signature Facebook experience with all its problems, inadequate solutions, and barely any escape route. If that happens, it will defeat the whole purpose of Facebook doing a grand name change.
Source: The Verge
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