Today Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be undergoing a rename and that new new was to be – Meta. Confirming that the Zuck is neither original or interesting. It also comes with a new logo that looks suspiciously similar to our the one used by our ABC and honestly #saveourabc.

Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg
We’re Meta now. Image: YouTube

But back to Taserface. I mean Facemeat. I mean Meta.

According to details released by Zuckerberg, the rebrand marks a new phase for the social media platform to begin its move into virtual reality and a so-called “metaverse” where the physical and digital worlds come together.

Someone’s been watching their Marvel films. And The Matrix. 

According to an official statement, this change of name is an attempt to streamline the identity of the parent company and bring the various “apps and technologies under one new company brand”. 

In a virtual (of course) conference, Zuckerberg told his audience about his expected outcomes from the rebrand.

“Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards,” he said.

“We’re now looking at and reporting on our business as two different segments, one for our family of apps, and one for our work on future platforms.

“And as part of this, it is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do, to reflect who we are and what we hope to build.”

Facebook still has a lot of wrinkles to iron out.

Some of Facebook and Zuckerberg’s critics have called this out as a cynical attempt at diverting attention away from the looming threat of the alleged Facebook Papers.

How this will impact user experience – although, does anyone but your drunk aunt or uncle with questionable political views actually use Facebook anymore? – is still yet to be revealed. If there’s any impact at all. Zuckerberg has already detailed that the name change really only affects the company at large. The social media platform and app will still be called Facebook.

An even bigger question is how the name change is intended to in any way improve the very real issues that the platform has become an incubator for – toxic mental health, disinformation and political manipulation.