Facebook is Poised to Following in Google's Footsteps by Rebranding
In 2015, the global search giant Google changed its corporate name to Alphabet to rebrand the company. The company believed it was more than just Google search and had a lot of bad press that it wanted to leave behind with a rebranding. Fast forward to 2021, and Facebook is looking to follow in Google's footsteps. The coming name change could be announced in late October by Mark Zuckerberg at the annual company conference. The company's rebranding would likely position the Facebook application as one of the many products under a parent company that oversees other products such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Facebook and Google shares are both available to trade online with iFOREX as CFDs. In an interview with The Verge, Mark Zuckerberg said that the company plans to transition from a social media company to becoming a metaverse company over the next several years.
Why Change the Company Name?
The thought process by company executives could be that a name change will release some of the negative press associated with Facebook. The company has a lot going on now, including whistleblower Frances Haugen who leaked documents to the media. The upshot was that Haugen exposed internal documents that showed that Facebook was, in some instances, anti-competitive and potentially breached user privacy concerns. The rebranding of the Facebook name could remove some of the negative connotations that the public expresses toward the company and all products beyond the social media cash cow. One of the issues that Facebook will experience is that when a company rebrands, the original name sticks. Even during earnings releases, plenty of analysts still call Alphabet their former name, Google.
Will a Name Change Work?
It's possible that a rebranding of the name will take some of the heat off of the executives at Facebook. The upshot is that the name change is a marketing solution to the current reputational crisis the company is experiencing. The problem is more complex than the solution. People will likely focus on the superficiality of the solution when some people feel that the company is a threat to democracy and that Facebook is tone-deaf to these issues. The reason executives at Facebook want to distance themselves from the name is that it has become synonymous with privacy issues.
During one of Frances Haugen's hearings, she said that the company believes that anger and fear drive more interaction than other emotions. The algorithms that the company uses promote exchange around anger, which causes more interaction and marketing. During the 2020 elections, the company toned down these algorithms but turned them back on as soon as the election was over. During the leadup to the January 6, 2021 insurrection, the company turned a blind eye to the anger generating interaction and marketing revenue on their social media platforms. Facebook has brought to light that revenue is the most crucial goal for the company and driving marketing revenue despite the ramification is at the top of their list. The internal documents show that the company is willing to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. During its latest financial results, it was evident that private policy was a big deal for Facebook. The recent change to user settings on Apple phones has put Facebook at risk and has exposed how much the company relies on mobile advertising.
Facebook has tried many social experiments to get consumers to interact. In 2006, the company introduced a ticker feed that scrolled through and showed what your friends liked and who they recently friended on the platform. Users became so furious that the company quickly shut down this algorithm.
Conservatives Believe Facebook is Anti-Conservative
The demand on Facebook for social media policy has placed the company in the crosshairs of conservatives. Many conservatives believe that Facebook is trying to censor them. This belief opened the door for the Trump Media and Technology Group that went public through a SPAC (Special Acquisition Company). The company Digital World Acquisition Corp allowed the company to raise money through a blank check. Trump is labeled as the company principal through regulatory filings. The focus has been that Trump wants back on social media after his ban on Twitter. Trump has set up the company so he can retain control even if there is a disruptive event. Trump and his businesses are subjects to several investigations, including charges that the New York prosecutors could bring up.
The Bottom Line
The upshot is that Facebook is poised to rebrand its company name, similar to how Alphabet shed the Google parent name in 2015. Facebook has several issues beyond the actual title, as its platform is seen as spreading anger and fear. CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes that a change will allow the company to become focused on the metaverse, well beyond the social media revenue created by Facebook and Instagram.
