Facebook Inc is planning to change its name with a view to a larger rebranding project. The news, reported by The Verge, cites an anonymous source inside Mark Zuckerberg’s company. The CEO expects to announce this important change at the annual Connect conference on October 28, but may reveal it sooner.
Facebook has made it known that it does not want to comment on “rumors or speculations”. The news comes at a time when the company is facing increasing scrutiny and increased U.S. government focus on its business practices. Following, especially the revelations of former employee France Haugen, who told Congress that Zuckerberg’s company put “astronomical profits before people” as well as hurting children and destabilizing democracies. Haugen also revealed internal research that showed 30% of teen girls increased dissatisfaction with their body because of Instagram.
The rebranding will position the Facebook app as one of many products under a parent company, which will also head Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus and more, The Verge explained.
The move will also reflect the company’s focus on building the so-called metaverse, an online world where people can use different devices to move and communicate in a virtual environment. Facebook has invested heavily in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) and intends to connect its nearly three billion users across different devices and applications. On Tuesday, he also announced a plan to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years to help build this metaverse.
A possible name could be Horizon. Just think that Zuckerberg recently rebranded his developing VR gaming platform called Horizon to Horizon Worlds.
It is not uncommon for companies in Silicon Valley to change their names when looking to expand their services. Google, for example, set up Alphabet Inc as a holding company in 2015 to oversee its other businesses.