In 2015 Google became Alphabet Inc. That became the holding company for all of the various Google products and holdings. Now Facebook undergoes a similar process. While Facebook’s social network platform will continue to be called by the same name, the holding company will be Meta Inc. So now, this is the parent company for WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, Giphy and numerous other services/ platforms. The ostensible reason is metaverse, says Zuckerberg, but people think the name change has more to do with the bad press the company has got recently.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, this is meant to "reflect its focus on building the metaverse". A metaverse is a form of shared virtual reality that will be the future of social media says, Zuckerberg.
This is what the parent company is going to look like, the tweeple noticed.
Some thought the logo was weird, like this tongue-in-cheek Twitter user.
The recent revelations made by whistleblower Frances Haugen means that there is a lot of mistrust for Facebook and its other products right now.
The algorithms deliberately employed by these social media platforms have been seen to increase mental health problems in teens. This is seen to promote misinformation, increase hate in society and even undermine democratic processes.
Facebook however has doubled down and defended itself instead of accepting the problems it has helped create.
Also evading tax accountability added another tweet.
…Name. It’s just window dressing. A cosmetic change that was made, at best for administrative reasons; at worst for deflecting blame.
Some feel that by concentrating on the metaverse, presumably a more immersive form of social media, Facebook is trying to rule even more of our lives than it already does.
Facebook thrives on collecting our information and makes money off our attention.
Wherever, whatever we do, they're collecting our information, tracking our activities. The metaverse is just going to be more of the same – more intrusion, more manipulation, more data farming feel commentators.
And ineffectual!
Let’s fix Facebook Facebook’s name, decided the company.
Because this changes nothing.
People see Facebook’s dealings as unethical; the company not having done what it could to stop the spread of misinformation.
Other brands decided to promote their own businesses of the #Meta trend.
Parle, PayTM, Swiggy, Zomato, Netflix, Dunzo, Skoda and numerous others created their own ‘punny’ memes.
Mostly people see Facebook’s rebrand/ renaming of itself as cosmetic and meaningless. They seem to be distancing themselves; trying to deflect attention from the very real problems they’ve created. How will a new name undo the damage done to the mental health of countless people, the subversion of democratic processes and the hate promoted within society?
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