Facebook's rebrand and the chilling calculation behind it
He's boldly focusing on the impact of his mishandling of so much.
Of course I laughed with you.
Did you really think you were alone in giggling at Facebook's new logo?
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Mark Zuckerberg's company has suddenly unveiled a startling new branding device. It consists of the word Facebook in, oh, capital letters.
The company claims: "The new branding was designed for clarity and uses custom typography and capitalization to create visual distinction between the company and app."
It's hard to believe that anything about Facebook was designed for clarity.
Its privacy settings have always been as clear as a politician's response. And every time Zuckerberg appears before Congress, he seems to know very little about his own company.
Still, this new capital idea is surely an expression of assertiveness.
It's typical of Facebook that when it endures criticism, it rebounds by doubling down.
You don't like our attitude to privacy? Hey, here's a new cryptocurrency!
Naturally, the minute Facebook's new corporate logo appeared, the Twitterized chuckling was loud.
Yet the company gave a little clue to what might be the true purpose of this move, buried within its own announcement.
It showed how much more prominent the Facebook branding would now be on Instagram.
So now you know.
That corporate logo is far more noticeable.
Now why would Facebook want that?
Well, let's turn to a recent study from the Pew Research Center. A mere 29% of Americans seem to know that Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp.
In essence, then, the majority of Americans associate the word Facebook with the dreadful social networking site that may have played a terrible role in the last elections.
But Facebook, dear users, is so much more.
Look at all the lovely things it brings you. Such as the ability to make your pictures look far more glorious than their original version and to share them with all your equally talented friends.
As Facebook comes under more regulatory and legal pressure, it'll want Americans to know that it isn't just what they think it is.
It's so much more and better and, you know, bigger.