Facebook changes its company name to Meta
來源：
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/28/tech/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-keynote-announcements/index.html
Written by Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN Business
整理 | Penny
Facebook is changing its company name as it shifts its focus to the "metaverse" and confronts wide-ranging scrutiny of the real-world harms from its various platforms after a whistleblower leaked hundreds of internal documents.
metaverse [ˈmetəvɜːs] n. 元宇宙
scrutiny [ˈskruːtəni] n. 密切關注，仔細審查
whistleblower [ˈwɪsəlˌbləʊə(r)] n. 揭秘者，告發者
Founder Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that Facebook will change its corporate name to Meta, effectively demoting Facebook's namesake service to being just one of the company's subsidiaries, alongside Instagram and WhatsApp, rather than the overarching brand.
demote [diːˈməʊt] v. 使降級；使降職
namesake [ˈneɪmseɪk] n. 同名物；同名者
subsidiary [səbˈsɪdiəri] n. 子公司，附屬機構
overarching [ˌəʊvərˈɑːtʃɪŋ] adj. 總體的，核心的
The company formerly known as Facebook also said in a press release that it plans to begin trading under thestock ticker "MVRS" on December 1.
stock ticker 股票代碼
A rebranding could be part of an effort to overhaul Facebook's reputation and turn the page following a series of PR nightmares, including misinformation on its platforms, content moderation failures and revelations about the negative effect its products have on some users' mental health.
overhaul [əʊvə'hɔːl] v. 全面改造，徹底修整
revelation [ˌrevəˈleɪʃn] n. 揭露，透露；被揭露的事實，被泄露的秘密
The name change, which was announced by Zuckerberg during the company's virtual reality and augmented realityconference Facebook Connect,aligns with its growing focus on the metaverse, which refers to efforts to combine virtual and augmented reality technologies in a new online realm.
augmented [ɔːgˈmentɪd] adj. 增強的，擴大的
align with 與…相結合，相匹配
realm [relm] n. 領域，範圍
"I've been thinking a lot about our identity as we begin this next chapter. Facebook is one of the most used products in the history of the world," Zuckerberg said on Thursday. "It is an iconic social media brand, but increasingly it just doesn't encompass everything that we do.
encompass [ɪnˈkʌmpəs] v. 包含；覆蓋
"Today we're seen as a social media company," he added, "but in our DNA, we are a company that builds technology to connect people. And the metaverse is the next frontier just like social networking was when we got started."
frontier [ˈfrʌntɪə(r)] n. 前沿，新興領域
Zuckerberg, who said he loved studying classics in school, said the name was inspired by the Greek word meta, which means "beyond." "For me, it symbolizes that there is always more to build."
The company also replaced its corporate sign, which featured a picture of a "thumbs up," outside of its California, headquarters with onetouting its new logo: a blue infinity sign.
tout [taʊt] v. 兜售，招徠顧客
Earlier this week, the company said that it would break out Facebook Reality Labs — its division dedicated to augmented and virtual reality services — as a separate reporting segment from its social apps. The change is set totake effect beginning in the fourth quarter.
dedicate to 致力於，用於；奉獻給
take effect 生效
Facebook did not announce any executive changes on Thursday. But on Zuckerberg's personal Facebook page, his job title was changed to: "Founder and CEO at Meta."
executive [ɪgˈzekjətɪv] adj. 行政的
When asked by The Verge if he would remain CEO at Facebook in the next 5 years, he said: "Probably. I don't have a specific date how long I want to be doing this for. I guess what I could say is I'm very excited about the next chapter of what we're doing."
Zuckerbergkicked off the big product event by teasing a series of new social, gaming and workplace concepts for the metaverse -- and by acknowledging the optics of focusing on such products amid renewed scrutiny of the company.
kick off [ˈkɪk ɒf] 開始
tease [tiːz] v. 取笑，嘲笑；戲弄
optic [ˈɒptɪks] n. 光學；公眾觀感，公眾看法
"I know that some people will say that this isn't a time to focus on the future, and I want to acknowledge that there are important issues to work on in the present. There always will be," Zuckerberg said. "So for many people, I'm just not sure there ever will be a good time to focus on the future. But I also know that there are a lot of you who feel the same way that I do."
"We live for what we're building," Zuckerberg added. "And while we make mistakes, we keep learning and building and moving forward."
Facebook showed a series of concept videos that highlighted its vision for metaverse, such as sending a holographic image of yourself to a concert with a friend attending in real life, sitting around virtual meeting tables with remote colleagues or playing immersive games with friends. Facebook recently said it would hire 10,000 people in Europe to build out the concept.
holographic [ˌhɒləˈgræfɪk] adj. 全息的
immersive [ɪˈmɜːsɪv] adj. 擬真的，沉浸式的
Zuckerberg also announced Messenger calling is coming to VR, plans to operate a virtual marketplace where developers can sell virtual goods and a new home screen in Oculus Quest to make chatting and games in the virtual world more social.
"Your devices won't be thefocal point of your attention anymore," he said. "We're starting to see a lot of these technologies coming together in the next five or 10 years. A lot of this is going to be mainstream and a lot of us will be creating and inhabiting worlds that are just as detailed and convincing as this one, on a daily basis."
focal [ˈfəʊkl] adj. 焦點的
A number of major companies have changed established brands over the years. Kentucky Fried Chicken shortened its name to KFC, Japanese car brand Datsun became Nissan. Some high-profile name changes have followed scandal or controversy. Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro, changed its name to Altria, for example, and ValuJet became AirTran after one of its planes crashed in 1996.
scandal [ˈskændl] n. 醜聞
controversy [ˈkɒntrəvɜːsi] n. 爭議
Other name changes are intended to reflect the company's broader ambitions. Snapchat rebranded as Snap in 2016 to reflect its foray into hardware and Google restructured the company with a new name, Alphabet, and plans to grow a variety of business divisions.
foray [ˈfɒreɪ] n. 涉足
背景知識：
美國著名社交媒體平台Facebook於28日宣布，該平台的品牌將部分更名為「Meta」。
據Facebook創始人扎克伯格稱，Facebook公司將致力於把現有的Facebook以及公司旗下的Instagram等多個社交媒體、實時通訊平台進行逐步整合，打造一個全新的Meta平台。
此前，「Facebook」一般既指全球網民常用的社交媒體平台，也指開發和維護該平台運營的公司。此次宣布更名的是Facebook公司，扎克伯格將其解釋為「品牌重定義」，即在Facebook網站及該公司目前掌握的多個品牌的基礎上，構建一個名為「Meta」的新品牌。
從介紹看，Meta平台將成為一個全新的、功能更多元的互聯網社交媒體形式，即藉助VR和AR技術及設備，吸引用戶在這個3D的虛擬世界中，建立一種類似於現實生活一樣可以進行人際互動、能滿足工作、交流和娛樂的「元宇宙」（Metaverse）空間。
據Facebook官網發布的信息顯示，目前Meta平台已建立了專屬的域名介紹頁，這一更名可能意味着Facebook公司將採取類似此前谷歌公司的做法，把公司的名稱改為Meta，截至目前，該公司旗下的Facebook網站，以及Instagram等多個網站、APP仍保留其原有的名字。（來源：環球時報）
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