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Comment by klodolph | Hacker News Reader

I’d say that it’s less about choosing “Meta” as a name, and more the realization that Facebook isn’t just the name of the company, it’s the name of a single product the company makes. I’m really unsurprised by the name change.

Think of what it would be like if Microsoft were called “Windows”, or Apple were called “Mac”. Facebook has realized that their main product does not appeal to everyone, and attaching the “Facebook” name to everything they do is not a great way forward. That’s why the Facebook name didn’t take over the Instagram or WhatsApp brands.

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I think this is partially right. The difference is Apple made the Mac. Microsoft made Windows. Facebook was the thing and then Facebook (the thing) made Facebook, the company. The relationship between owner and intention is something like retroactive. If Facebook could have called Instagram “Facebook” at the very moment of acquisition and got away with it I’m sure they’d have been thrilled. But that was similarly never the way of things. Facebook the company has always been trying to convince everyone that Facebook (the originating product and all it’s ill-gotten marvels) is a product of the thinking. But it’s the source. A tiny homebrew app for gossip didn’t suddenly will into existence Instagram and WhatsApp. The nature and timing of the product put the resulting company in a financial position to encourage us all to play along and believe they had anything to do with the purpose and utility of those things. Oculus was similar. The promise of infinite cash for the problem. Make it better faster. Fastest. The product existed, now please believe Facebook is why. Call it meta. The meta is why. Sure it’s a little on the nose, but is just here to assemble the pieces anyway, so who cares what it’s called. Now the carnivorous beast built of such crudely stitched limbs it so desperately tried to integrate has donned a hat. A hat on a hat. Unsurprising, yes.

> Facebook has realized that their main product does not appeal to everyone,

Let's don't fool ourselves: the only reason to change the name of the company is because "Facebook" name has many negative (and fairly earned) connotations. Every time "Facebook" (the company) launched a new product there were concerns about the privacy and invasion they do (and to me their were justified).

They want to reduce that by being able to say "Meta just created X" instead of "Facebook just created X". Let's see how far it goes...

I would love for some judge somewhere to wholesale reject any trademark efforts on FBs part for “Meta”

The first computer made by Apple was the Apple I. Then came the Apple 2. I'd suggest leaving them out of your example ;-)

Interestingly Mozilla seems to be doing the opposite and naming more things "Firefox". But I don't think they're an example to be learned from when it comes to these decisions.

Both Apple and Microsoft had made many more things before making Mac and Windows. They had a larger vision from the start, unlike Facebook.

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