What does Facebook transformation to Meta mean for everyone?

Facebook changed its name to Meta in its bid to rebrand itself. What it means for everyone and how it came about will be explored in this article. 

A little background

Back to the subject at hand, Facebook was originally launched in February 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and introduced as a social media platform. Gradually with its growth, Facebook was also able to introduce the concept of e-commerce in its platforms which produced multiple opportunities for marketers and organizations.

Granted that this opened doors towards the progression of economies. moreover, Mark Zuckerberg took ownership over the Instagram and WhatsApp platforms in 2012 and 2014 respectively, as a part of Facebook’s expansion plan. Their services continued to operate as standalone apps, but their technical infrastructure was unified.

Bringing the world’s three widely used platforms together allowed internet users to communicate across platforms for the first time. Recently though, on October 28, 2021, Facebook officially changed its name to Meta to focus on building the metaverse.

What is the metaverse?

Short story? It is virtual reality. And this virtual reality cannot be exclusively accessed only through VR or AR, rather it can also be accessed through PC, gaming consoles, or even phones. Moreover, this virtual world will be persistent and alive even when one logs out of the system.

It can also include a digital economy for buying and selling goods. The coolest thing is that virtual items like cars or clothes can be taken from one platform to another. There will be virtual identities of each individual, allowing individuals to carry their virtual persona on all platforms. 

All of this seems hard to imagine. To an extent, the metaverse is what talking about the internet seemed like in the 1970s, when it was still being built. The internet seemed like some form of communication that no one back then knew what looked like. This is what metaverse seems now.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Both these terms have challenging and exciting potential in the field of gaming, e-commerce, education, marketing, etc. Also, both of them allow for bringing the virtual and real world together, however, there are still some significant differences between the two. Augmented reality can be accessed through any smartphone device and it morphs the physical world into a virtual one by projecting virtual pictures and characters through a phone’s camera. Virtual reality creates a computer-generated simulation of an alternate world. VR requires using special equipment such as sensors, headsets, and gloves. Hence, their differences come down to the devices they require and the experience. 

Why the rebranding?

The main speculated reason behind Facebook rebranding is to put off the negative attention that it was given due to privacy concerns. Facebook has been under fire for months, considering it is under scrutiny for its ad-driven model built upon users’ data.

However, Mark Zuckerberg claims that the decision to change its name to Facebook will reposition towards the metaverse, which will introduce multiple growth opportunities for the company. The main idea behind the metaverse is to introduce a virtual reality, as mentioned before. It will be an experience like no other.

The defining quality will be the feel of it – individuals will feel like they are there with another person in another place. It will feel real to them. Facebook wants to be known as more than just a social media platform. Facebook already released a statement saying they plan to hire around 10,000 employees to work towards building the metaverse. Facebook has heavily invested in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) and plans to connect its million users to the metaverse through their devices and apps. 

Why do companies generally change their names?

Large organizations and companies change their names all the time. For instance, when Apple started releasing iPhone, it changed from the Apple Computer to just Apple.

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Google renamed itself as Alphabet to separate itself from the Google search engine showing corporate restructuring. Other companies do so to accelerate their success if they suffer from any brand confusion or share a similar name with another. Similarly, Facebook changed its name to Meta to refocus its purpose towards introducing augmented reality in all the platforms.

Eleggible’s Final Words

Whatever the reason Facebook has for changing its name to Meta, the implications will be big. Meta will help to build technologies, find communities and introduce and grow businesses.

Facebook changed the way people connected ever since its launch in 2004. Platforms under its umbrella such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger further empowered billions towards reaching out to their friends and loved ones, and new people.

However, now Meta will move from the 2D experience towards immersive ones like augmented and virtual reality, bringing about a new evolution on the internet. 

Speaking of the internet, you need a reliable one to connect to Facebook and other social media applications, which is why you should consider Xfinity internet packages for your internet browsing needs.

Navigating Facebook doesn’t require a very fast internet connection, rather it will work just fine with an average speed internet connection as well. 

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