What's next for Facebook?

In all honesty, the motivation for this article was something I read today on TheStreet.com. It got me thinking on where Facebook can go from here.Music: Facebook started off as a MySpace competitor and while the latter has withered away, Facebook is stronger and bigger than ever. So it comes as no surprise that Facebook is now looking to conquer music. There are two prominent rumors that might both point to the same event. The former and more popular one is the potential partnership with Spotify, a European streaming music pioneer looking for an attractive entry point in the US. The second one is Facebook Vibes, their music service which might or might not be through Spotify.Skype: Facebook and Skype(Microsoft) launched video chat on Facebook.com last week. This will be followed by more features that will be enabled by the partnership. With Google+ launching Hangouts, there is a lot of catch up that Facebook needs to do here. Along the same lines, Facebook+Skype might choose to compete with Google Voice from within Facebook. So there will be new features added to the video/calling segment over the next few months.Groups: Facebook Groups is an underused feature of Facebook that got in the limelight after Google unveiled its Circles feature under Google+.Mobile and Tablet devices: The Facebook Mobile app is the best and most popular way for accessing Facebook. Facebook browsing on mobile phones is one of the most popular mobile data applications. Facebook will continue to expand on the mobile front. This will include the just announced Mobile app for all mobile platforms (including feature phones), an iPad specific Facebook app and interesting partnerships just as the recently launched HTC Status Facebook phone. There are rumors of Facebook building its own version of an App Store, but time will tell if that comes true.Games: For now, Facebook is the only meaningful way to play social network games from big names like Zynga. This relationship has proved extremely fruitful for Facebook and Zynga. Zynga has been looking to expand its footprint outside of Facebook and Facebook has been looking for other big gaming partners. So look for some announcements here. The looming prospect of Google social games within Google+ could change the status quo quickly.Advertising: Facebook has continually tweaked its advertising offering, which is its bread and butter. The recently announced offering of expanded ad space is yet another way to capture more attention of users and advertisers. Expect tweaks here all the time, most of which the user will be oblivious to.Privacy: Facebook's privacy issues are well documented and ongoing. Expect it to continue being in the limelight. The reason is simple- Facebook believes that its future lies in getting people to share as many things to as many people as possible. Privacy advocates and the government believe in just the opposite. Never the twain shall meet.IPO: And then there is the IPO. The Facebook IPO is the most expected event in the stock market for this and the next year. No other IPO has seen so much attention in recent history. Expect this to be big. Really BIG.Odds and Ends: There will be other tidbits that will end up as nothing more than rumors and others that result in small to medium sized effect to users, advertisers and the industry as a whole. Thanks to the successful launch of Google+, Facebook will now be forced to get back to innovating and offering more to the consumer. And that is a win for everyone.