The Facebook Rollercoaster: The Next Installment

So now the world and everyone in it are on the edge of their seat. What does Facebook have up their sleeve this time? Similar to how he chose to unveil his new partnership with Skype, Mark Zuckerberg wasn't giving anything away when, late on Tuesday, he invited the press to "come and see what we are building" - in his words. Indeed that was pretty much all that was written on the invitation to the Facebook media event, other than the obligatory where's and when's - Tuesday, January 15, at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park in Palo Alto, California.

Following this public invitation, Facebook shares instantly rose 5%, as people rushed in to get a slice of the new pie. This also ties into Facebook recently swimming back up to the $30 share mark. It took the social network giant five months to bring itself back above board, after share value fell in 2012.

Little to nothing has been leaked about the upcoming Facebook announcement next week, so one can only hazard an educated guess... and there is no shortage of those whizzing around.

What can Facebook be building, do we think?

The folk at Facebook like to keep their finger on the pulse. When the Snapchat application was launched, Facebook didn't waste any time coming back with their Poke application - an app that sends photos, messages and videos that self-destruct after they are read. So the question arises - what does Facebook plan to do with their newly-acquired Instagram? Perhaps they are launching their own music-sharing application? Or what about their own search engine? Does Facebook have the power to rival Google like that? Perhaps most likely of all, an innovation in e-commerce play, a way to monetize their 1 billion visitors. Or a Facebook mobile phone or mobile platform!

Social Gaming and Gambling on Facebook

First came the pay-to-play social games; Zynga's blockbuster Farmville, Yoville and Mafiawars, as well as philanthropic ventures like Lil Green Patch, where game-play raised funds for re-forestation. Then came the out-and-out gambling games, starting with Bingo Friendzy in Facebook UK, followed by classic poker apps, slot games such as Slotomania and Slotsfarm. No doubt, as far as Facebook is concerned this is a very direct way of monetizing its masses of users.

Let's wait and see what the next step is after the announcement next week.