Facebook: Panhandling for millions more? When is the IPO?

Over the past few weeks, I've attended dot-com events in LA and San Francisco. Instead of people gabbing about Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), the topic is now Facebook.

People ask me: "Are you on Facebook?" "Will Facebook go public" "Is Facebook a time suck?"

I'm not sure. But, Facebook's senior management team is savvy – and cagey. And, I'm sure they have a plan to take over the world.

Well, tech vet Kara Swisher has stirred the Facebook pot this week. That is, her sources seem to think that Facebook is not going to file for an IPO – but actually get another round of venture capital. Crazy?

Not really. Hey, didn't Google wait a maddeningly long time until it went public? Wasn't the mystique of being a private company an advantage? Actually, by building up lots of anticipation, a future IPO may command a huge valuation, right?

Besides, it looks like that a majority of Facebook's revenues come from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). So, it's probably a good idea to diversify the customer base.

But in the tech world, things can go south pretty fast -- and the social networking space has a lot of roadkill.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.