At the 2021 Connect conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that their parent company’s name will be changing to ‘Meta’ as part of a major rebranding effort.

This is part of an overall shift from purely social media into areas such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and smart glasses.

What is the Metaverse?

Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has revolved around internet and mobile connection, and they’ve expanded their influence by purchasing companies such as Instagram and Oculus.  

Facebook is now concentrating on new ways for people to connect, grow their business and find communities. Their solution: the metaverse.

Long theorised to be the ‘next evolution’ of the internet, the metaverse will supposedly use VR technology to create a hybrid of online and social. Promo material has shown people meeting virtually using headsets to project a 3D version of themselves, giving the impression that they’re all in the same space.

Will there be an immediate change to Facebook?

In short, no. The company has changed its name and branding, but the social media site will continue to operate under the same name.

Zuckerberg is looking at the near future and not today:

 “Within the next decade, the metaverse will reach a billion people, host hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce, and support jobs for millions of creators and developers.”

What does this rebrand mean for businesses using Facebook?

At the moment, Meta will be concentrating on developing the basic tools and tech needed to bring the metaverse to life. We can expect to see some changes to their social media platforms over time, but if you’re a business owner either posting on Facebook or running ads, there’s nothing to worry about right now.

This branding change will only apply to the parent company and not the individual platforms owned by Meta, such Whatsapp and Instagram. 

What do the tech-minded folks at SBM think of the metaverse?

We’re so glad you asked.

While it’s right to sceptical of grand tech claims, virtual reality is a technology with incredible room to grow. We’ve all gotten a whole lot more comfortable of virtual workspaces and interacting online during the past couple of years, so it looks like Meta is choosing an opportune time to take things to the next level.

If anyone can make VR work on a grand scale, it’s a company with Facebook/Meta’s level of influence.

Whatever the future holds, you’re definitely going to want to watch this space.