Facebook is about to make another big change.
I know it was only last week when it was announced that the new Timeline feature will become mandatory for all users — I’m still seeing complaints on my news feed about it — but Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are making headlines again.
This new change isn’t one people will be able to see on their Facebook page. No, this change is one people will see in their daily stock reports.
That’s right — Facebook is going public.
Announced last week, Zuckerberg and crew are trying to raise $5 billion, Facebook’s initial public offering, before it hits the stock market sometime around May. The social network is estimated to be worth between $75 and $100 billion, experts say.
If you’re looking for advice on whether or not to invest in your favorite procrastination tool, prepare to be disappointed — that isn’t my specialty.
Instead, we’re going to focus on a letter Zuckerberg wrote to potential investors about Facebook and the direction the site is going as he opens the door to the country’s largest social network.
With almost 850 million users, it’s hard to make everyone happy. What Zuckerberg wants to do, however, is make the best service he can for all of his followers, no matter what it takes, he says in his letter.
Zuckerberg explains how he and his workers are not only constantly innovating the website, but are always trying to improve its features for users. He’s not afraid of messing things up if it means improving his business.
This business ideology is what he wants his investors to see when they decide to own a piece of the network. Facebook’s main goal, according to Zuckerberg, is “to strengthen how people relate to each other.”
It seems in the short eight years the website has existed, Facebook has succeeded in that goal — and so much more.
Everyone’s life is voluntarily out there on the Internet via a social networking site. This thought was completely unfathomable 20 years ago. Now this formerly closed society is about to be open to the public, and that can be a bit scary.
Many old-school investors and businessmen may not be a fan of Zuckerberg’s carefree attitude toward running his company.
His motto, “move fast and break things,” greatly differs from the companies he speaks of in his letter, which he says slow down because they’re afraid of making mistakes and losing business. Zuckerberg writes that the only way to move forward is to be bold and take risks, even if that means making a few mistakes on the way.
“The riskiest thing is to take no risks,” he says in his letter.
While some may not agree with Zuckerberg’s way of doing things, there’s no denying his success. Going from coding in his Harvard dorm to being the face of a possible $100 billion business is no mistake.
It’ll be a tough pill for some people to swallow, but like most aesthetic changes to the site itself, people will get used to it and learn to accept it.
It’s a big leap for Facebook to make, and as Zuckerberg said in his letter, there will be more changes to come — and we know how much people love change.
But it’s this change that’s brought us things like Facebook chat, video and Timeline, so by Zuckerberg opening up like this it makes me more confident in what he’s doing for his company, his brand and America’s favorite time killer.
Adam Arinder is a 22-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
 
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Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]