Previous rumors about Facebook going public have finally come to fruition.  On Feb. 1, the social networking powerhouse took the first step by filing its initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For the last eight years, Facebook has only sold stock to large private firms. However, more investors are necessary to keep up with its rapid growth and constant evolution.  According to the regulations set forth by the SEC, no company can have more than 500 investors without going public - such is the case with Facebook.

But even though the money wheels are in motion, we will not see the "FB" symbol on the stock market ticker for several more months.  Wall Street traders must first digest the financial information that Facebook Inc. just disclosed to the SEC.

They want to know if the company can withstand the test of time - past and future. The social networking site is heavily dependent on advertising. This is not a guaranteed source of income in the days ahead, as the company has to face certain challenges like competitors or a wavering economy.

There is, as of yet, no concrete price per share.  Some financial bloggers estimate that a company with a market value of $75 billion to $100 billion should be trading at around $30 to $40 a share.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, confident as always, is certain that by the time they are ready, the initial public offering (IPO) will be worth around $5 billion.  That is more than twice the amount of Google's $1.9 billion IPO when they went public.

An article recently appearing in Forbes valued Zuckerberg's worth to be around $17.5 billion. The day the IPO was filed, NBC Nightly News suggested his worth could top $30 billion once "FB" stock gets going.