Facebook is not just a social media network; it is a social media BRAND, which has challenged established powerhouses like Google and Yahoo. Besides being the largest social media platform where more than 500 million worldwide users communicate through their profiles, it is the only social network connector that has a systematic ‘business model’ for the new, mobile-savvy generation. It is also the first social network website to declare numerous acquisitions that have eventually helped expanding its business.

And not to forget, it is second to Google in driving video traffic to the website.

It is quite obvious that Facebook is making speedy progress in every plan decided, except one. Sometime is March, 2010 Facebook made certain announcements about going public, but so far has provided no specific details about the plan.

Was it just a slip of the tongue or has Mark Zuckerberg changed his mind? No matter what the reason is, why Facebook is delaying its IPO plan?

Facebook is still user-hungry
Since 2004 Facebook has emerged as a popular online social media destination for the fast internet savvy generation and maintaining and expanding its user base is the most crucial challenge it has to deal with in order to keep its charisma alive. Facebook has ensured that it keeps offering its users innovative ways of communicating and exchanging information. In fact, innovation is one reason why Facebook won the social media race against its rival Twitter. In today’s rapidly changing scenario, Facebook and Twitter are not even considered as potential competitors since Facebook has gone too far in such a short time.

Here are Facebook’s latest competitors: MySpace, LinkedIn, Tagged, Bebo, Hi5, Open Social, Friendster and Piczo.

If you think about it, Twitter’s cute, chirpy sparrow has managed to hook more than 190 million visitors every month. And, celebrities worldwide prefer to chat with their fans through their Twitter profiles simply because it convenient and time-saving. Hence, even though Twitter’s sparrow has the potential to fly higher, right now the sky is very limited and majorly occupied by Facebook.

What about new developers?
Facebook has lured tech geeks also because it introduced some really entertaining Apps that are easy to use and fun to play with. The challenge for Facebook is to continue developing fresh applications to keep fuelling its social media engine. With its team of developers, who take care of this very basic yet difficult task, In future, Facebook will need even more efficient developers in good numbers to keep producing equally interesting apps to attract the new users while preserving the old ones.

Users are already too overwhelmed with Facebook Applications, the emotional connect is stronger. But too much of anything spoils the scene. Will it happen to Facebook?

Privacy issues
This is has been Facebook’s biggest concern.

As majority of the users are not aware of this fact, we would like to bring it to your notice those websites-cum-user-forums like FacebookProtest, FacebookGroup and QuitFacebookDay, which have been asking Facebook members to quit, boycott or question Facebook’s privacy rules. These groups are big enough to shake Facebook’s expansion plans. FacebookGroup has 2.2 million members, QuitFacebookDay has 23,000 members, while FacebookProtest has 3,000 supporters and this is definitely not a small threat to Facebook’s empire.

Facebook accounts are getting hacked and hijacked very often with spam messages. Junk links have been passed around through Facebook, which may later create a dangerous situation.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook IPO and financial intelligence
The above stated fact clearly means that Facebook needs to mature even further in order to launch an IPO. There is no second thought about the fact that companies go public because they want to raise cash. However, stock sale is not only about money. Trust and credibility are two undercurrents that remote-control the monetary trends and games of profit and loss. Facebook is barely six years old and requires a little more time to stabilize and strengthen its base in order to build impeccable credibility.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is smart not because he built the largest social media network in the world. He is smart because at the age of 26, Zuckerberg has shown immense understanding of how ‘financially intelligent’ a business model needs to be.

Zuckerberg’s announcement to go public in 2012 will continue fetching attention, publicity and perhaps, more users to Facebook, giving it ample of time to achieve the target of 1 billion users. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg will collect more experience, financial strength and user potency required to prepare for the future, under his belt.

Following comment by Zuckerberg given in a television interview sums it up.

“Facebook will go public ‘when it makes sense’!”

Brands make smart moves only when it makes sense. Hats off Zuckerberg…