What’s Next for Facebook?

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) climbed over 10 percent in heavy trading over the course of the past week, breaking $30 per share for the first time since July 2012, and closing on Friday at $31.72. Investors bid the stock up ahead of a January 15 event announced late Tuesday that has so far been shrouded in secrecy, but which some are expecting to be a significant product announcement.

Is it up, up, and away for the world’s largest social network?

Of course, speculation has run wild. Observers have thrown everything from from a Facebook phone to a music-sharing service on the table. The invite to the event featured the tag line “Come and see what we’re building,” which doesn’t offer any real clues to what could actually be unveiled — both a phone and a music-sharing service seem unlikely.

For the first, founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that a smartphone “wouldn’t really make much sense for us to do.” After all, why pick a fight with giants like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)? Compared to iOS and Android, a Facebook-specific platform would feel as utilitarian as a watch compared to a laptop. It’s better to build partnerships across the existing platforms.

For the second, the same argument applies. The online music space is already rife with competition and loaded with a thousand trap doors that Facebook doesn’t want to fall into. Its stock growth is predicated on its ability to monetize, and any deviation from that path has previously caused shareholders to sell off and walk away…

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