As parts of its efforts to broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality, Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement at the Facebook’s annual conference Thursday, where he outlined his vision for a digital world built with virtual reality headsets and augmented reality.
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“We believe the metaverse will be the successor of the mobile internet,” Zuckerberg said.
The change however, does not apply to its individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, only the parent company that owns them.
The move follows a series of public relations crises based on documents leaked by an ex-employee.
Explaining the concept, Mr Zuckerberg said the new name “meta” is coined from the Greek word meaning “beyond”, adding that over time, users will not need to use Facebook to use the company’s other services.
“To an outsider, a metaverse may look like a version of VR, but some people believe it could be the future of the internet.
“Instead of being on a computer, people in a metaverse might use a headset to enter a virtual world connecting all sorts of digital environments.”
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It is hoped the virtual world could be used for practically anything from work, play and concerts, to socialising with friends and family.
Facebook said it intends to start trading it shares under the new stock ticker MVRS from 1 December.
