The Facebook corporation is pivoting in a new direction and rebranding to Meta. Not only has it rebranded, but it's also shifting focus to its new metaverse concept. What exactly is a metaverse, and where is it all headed? That's precisely what we're looking at today.

Remember when Facebook first overtook MySpace and became everyone’s primary social media platform of choice? It seemed like everyone I knew was on it. Eventually, so was I. In fact, so are many of our parents and grandparents. While it’s still the same old Facebook at its core, plenty has changed since it became accessible beyond its original college crowd demographic.

Facebook has become a myriad of things for a wide range of people. To some, it’s a great place to casually keep in touch with friends and family. Others enjoy fan pages and a continuous flow of comical memes. There’s the business crowd who use it to network or market products. Then, of course, there are those who love to dwell within conversation threads and debate literally everything under the sun.

Now, Facebook’s creator, Mark Zuckerberg, is moving forward by rebranding the company. The Facebook corporation will become “Meta,” a word that can sometimes mean “beyond.” Zuckerberg’s vision for this new chapter in the company’s story is certainly ambitious and, while skepticism is understandable, we can’t help but be curious what it will bring. So, what’s this rebranding to Meta all about? Here’s what we know.

Facebook’s HQ changes its sign to new Meta logo

New name, new logo, and a new direction

As one might expect, rebranding comes with changes to everything we’re used to seeing within the Facebook corporation, which will take on a new name (as previously mentioned). Along with the new Meta title, it will adopt a dual loop infinity logo made to look like an M.

Meta will also choose a new direction in which to pursue its goals of connecting people. Rather than focusing all its attention on the previous website and app-based experience, it’ll pivot toward a virtual space. Yes, that’s right. From Facebook to virtual reality.

Meta gives a peek at the future it envisions

Welcome to Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse

So what exactly is the metaverse, and where does virtual reality come into play? The vision that Mark Zuckerberg has laid out so far is to create immersive virtual spaces in which users can have interactive social experiences together.

This could range from simple hangouts to playing games or even attending live concerts. In other words, rather than engaging with others via 2D news feeds and comment threads, you’d be able to use virtual and augmented reality technology to put you in a 3D environment.

This would only be the beginning, of course. The possibilities are certainly open to interpretation this early on.

While the rebranding itself is surprising, Facebook shifting toward a virtual reality metaverse shouldn’t come as too big of a shock. The company has dabbled in other popular areas of technology, like smart displays for example.

However, the move that most telegraphed its intent was when it acquired the Oculus Rift VR device. After taking over the Oculus technology, it makes sense that it would merge the concepts of social connection with virtual reality. Since it has significant experience in both areas, Meta could very well manage to pull it off.

Meta demonstration suggests virtual reality social spaces

Will Meta lead us further into the virtual frontier?

There are plenty of companies dabbling in VR right now, and Facebook is already one of them. The technology is evolving faster than it ever has and is seeing exponential growth.

Not only that but there’s also a far greater public interest in VR and AR technology than ever before. Meta could very well lead us further into the virtual frontier with its metaverse. For fans of virtual reality, that could be a good thing.

That said, the skepticism surrounding that very idea is fair. Facebook is frequently accused of sketchy behavior regarding privacy, censorship, and toxic societal influence. Will its work under the new Meta name and mission address those concerns?

Time will tell, but it might not be clear until we step onto the virtual plain with them to see for ourselves. Either way, what a time to be alive for us gadget lovers, am I right?