Facebook’s new parent company name and logo, Meta. (Meta Image)

Facebook announced a name change on Thursday intended to bring together everything that it works on under a single brand called Meta, and in turn take some of the focus off the social media company that started in 2004.

The name reflects the tech giant’s belief that the virtual tools and experiences of the so-called “metaverse” are the future of connectivity — from a company whose long stated mission has been to connect people around the world.

“The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in his Founder’s Letter on Thursday. “Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this.”

The move to Meta is reminiscent of Google putting itself under the parent company name Alphabet in 2015.

Facebook’s rebranding comes at a time of ever-increasing scrutiny and criticism of the company and its practices. Most recently, a whistleblower has provided tens of thousands of documents shedding light on the company’s practices. The Wall Street Journal said that the “Facebook Papers” demonstrate that the company knew of the ill effects of its platform and did nothing to fix it.

Zuckerberg started Facebook as a social network while in college 17 years ago and the company now owns such one-time standalone giants as Instagram and WhatsApp as well as Oculus VR and more.

Meta says it is moving beyond 2D screens toward “immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.”

Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Facebook established a sizable engineering presence in the Seattle region over the years, growing to 7,000 employees in Seattle, Bellevue, and Kirkland, Wash. In 2020, for instance, Facebook paid $367.6 million to purchase a brand new 6-acre, 400,000 square-foot complex from REI at the new Spring District development in Bellevue.

Meta says its corporate structure will not change, but its financial results will now be reported as two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The company will also start trading under the new stock ticker MVRS, on Dec. 1.

Calling Facebook one of the most used technology products in the history of the world, Zuckerberg said in his letter that there’s a lot more to build at Meta.

“Our role in this journey is to accelerate the development of the fundamental technologies, social platforms and creative tools to bring the metaverse to life, and to weave these technologies through our social media apps,” Zuckerberg said in his letter. “We believe the metaverse can enable better social experiences than anything that exists today, and we will dedicate our energy to helping achieve its potential.”

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