Facebook’s name to get a metaverse makeover

The Future. According to an inside source, Facebook is planning to change its company name, possibly as early as next week. The move is expected to highlight the social giant’s transition from a social media company to a metaverse company. But with a metaverse platform still potentially years away, the name change may confuse users who still aren’t sure what the concept of a metaverse even is.

New chapter
Facebook is planning to try on a new mask.

• The company is planning on changing its name next week.
• While the name is still undisclosed, it will reportedly reflect Facebook’s push into designing the metaverse.
• The name will be revealed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg on October 28 at the company’s Connect conference… or sooner.

Our money is on the new company being called “Horizon” — a name already used for Facebook’s new remote-working platform (Horizon Workrooms) and its upcoming Roblox-like platform (Horizon Worlds).

Fresh face
The name change isn’t surprising. Zuckerberg has been beating the drum for months that Facebook is trying to “transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.” In preparation, Facebook has doubled down on its AR/VR ambitions, which will be vital hardware to access this new digital world.

Similar to how Snapchat changed to Snap Inc. to signal it was becoming a “camera company,” the hope is that Facebook’s change will give the company a fresh coat of paint. Will changing its name make people forget about WSJ’s bombshell reports from whistleblower Frances Haugen, the plethora of antitrust lawsuits against it, or any of its other scandals? Only time will tell.