There are several things cluttering Facebook’s 2012 entree to IPO including the new proposed bill by lawmakers on raising the bar for private companies’ disclosure of information and the question of whether Mark Zuckerberg is equipped enough to handle a billion-dollar public company. The latter issue has created speculations on who will be Facebook’s Eric Schmidt, the person responsible for Google’s outstanding IPO preparation. This becomes rather serious when experts revealed that Facebook’s valuation could reach a staggering $100 billion. The world’s favorite social network is currently worth around $4 billion.

Just yesterday, Zuck and co. were just ordinary geeks roving around the Harvard campus and now they are about to reach for another peak of their careers, and perhaps lives. An infographic released by namesake.com, outlines the path of Facebook from its foundation up to the hyped IPO invasion next year. Founded in 2004 by fusing creative minds of Zuck, Saverin, Moskovitz and Hughes, Facebook has reached celebrity status not only in the business, but also amongst its workers, as the company was hailed as the number one best company to work for in 2010, according to Forbes.com. Today, it is home to more than 2,000 people and has nearly 700 million users worldwide. Initially, they had just $500k funding from Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman, valued at a mere $10 million. After roughly seven years, their total funds have ballooned to $2.36 billion with a much higher valuation.

The company is not at its prime yet, believe it or not. Facebook’s revenue and profitability will still grow at an exponential rate and eMarketer sees a 118% increase in ad returns by 2012, equivalent to $5.74 billion. If Facebook decides (which is almost certain) to go public, its valuation of $100 billion will place them as the third in the plate of the giants within the IPO platform, following Apple and Google, which currently hold the first and second posts respectively. Furthermore, this luring potential could easily overtake the two other folks in no time.

Information technology is arguably going crazy over IPOs. Who could blame the community when some of the companies that recently entered this sphere had spectacular debuts? Fusion-io, LinkedIn and Pandora are some of the enterprises warmly welcomed by the public in recent weeks, gurgling up plenty of bubble talk.

The entire craze, all the fuss on Facebook opening its doors to the public, will just make Zuck’s social networking site what could be the most phenomenal parade in IPO grounds, and the biggest consumer technology public offering in history. This news, tied with heavyweights thriving in Silicon Valley, has very well influenced the 20% increase in real-estate prices of nearby properties. Without a hint of doubt, anyone who is able will surely love the idea of being neighbors with Facebook.