There has been plenty of snark about the Meta rebrand.
The comparisons to Altria and Alphabet are way off
- Meta got the .com
- Meta got the $META ticker
- Meta is meaningful
Alphabet doesn’t own the .com and Altria doesn’t own the ticker
Alphabet is vaguely meaningful: the company has many products/services (one for each letter) and a propensity to make alpha bets (good investments). Most customers won’t see that connection. Altria is reportedly derived from the Latin word for high. That might be relevant for their growing cannabis business but again, most customers won’t know/care.
Meta, on the other hand, is short and meaningful in multiple languages. It is also the best abbreviation of metaverse, which Wikipedia describes as “a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection.” That seems like a good name for the parent of the world’s most popular social networks and VR platform.
It also didn’t make sense to continue associating the whole company with its most stagnant product. Instagram, WhatsApp and Quest (Oculus) are arguably more important to the future of the company. Whether or not the metaverse eventuates, Meta is a better parent company name than Facebook. Talking heads will continue talk, Zuck will continue to execute like Henry VIII.