Today, 5/18/12, will go down in history.  Facebook has become (NASDAQ: FB).  38 bucks a share.

Why is everyone on the edge of their seat today?  Will there be a Facebook’s IPO pop?  Then a crash? A lot of us are drawn in by the entertainment factor.  Sure, it will be cool to see what happens.  And seeing just how much money is at play is jaw dropping and eye popping.

But there’s a bigger issue at play.  Facebook is the focus of our attention today because of the fact that they are the leader.  Today is about Social Leadership. What will happen to the leader?

Facebook has been, and continues to be a leader in social.  (Duh.)  And while Google+ has made a most amazing effort to lead the way, they can’t catch Facebook.  It’s too late.  When a leader pulls this far ahead of the pack, there’s simply too much of a gap.  There’s a virtuous cycle that compounds their success.  Why go build your own social network somewhere else?  Start all over? Nope.

So will FB pop or crash today?  We’ll see.  Let’s watch the Social Leader lead the way…