Mark Zuckerberg.Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Facebook, Inc.announced on Thursday that it’schanging the name of the companyto Meta.
“We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet, and it’s the next chapter for our company too,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 37, wrote in hisfounder’s letter.
“Today we’re seen as a social media company,” he continued. “But increasingly, it’s not all we do. In our DNA, we build technology to bring people together. The metaverse is the next frontier in connecting people, just like social networking was when we got started.”
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Zuckerberg described the metaverse as “even more immersive — an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it.““The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this.”
Zuckerberg referenced the “scrutiny and public debate” surrounding the company in a pre-recorded video message.
“Some of you might be wondering why we’re doing this right now,” he said in the video. “The answer is I believe that we’re put on this earth to create. I believe technology can make our lives better and I believe the future won’t be built on its own.”
Meta.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Acknowledging that “there are important issues to work on in the present,” Zuckerberg added that “so long as I’m running this company,” he wants to focus on innovation and “absolutely go for it.“In his founder’s letter, the CEO also emphasized that “privacy and safety need to be built into the metaverse from day one.““The last five years have been humbling for me and our company in many ways. One of the main lessons I’ve learned is that building products people love isn’t enough,” he wrote.
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Zuckerberg previously mentioned the company shifting focus during a July interview withThe Verge.
“The metaverse is a vision that spans many companies— the whole industry. You can think about it as the successor to the mobile internet,” he said. “It’s certainly not something that any one company is going to build.”
Earlier this month, the company also announced that over the next five years itplans on creating 10,000 jobs across the EUto help bring the metaverse online.
“Facebook is at the start of a journey to help build the next computing platform,” the company wrote in a blog post, referring to the metaverse as “a new phase of interconnected virtual experiences using technologies like virtual and augmented reality.”
source: people.com
