Today, the wait is over.

Today, we finally have our answer.

Today, the hype meets reality.

Today, today is our independence day!

Wait, wrong movie.

Today, the dream I dreamed still lives!

Ever since Facebook announced, then shrewdly and secretly promoted, that they have a major announcement coming, today has become a field day. By inviting members of the media to “come and see what we’re building,” Facebook is officially driving its own hype machine. The thing is, it’s working.

In today’s media age, mystery has become more of a quaint idea than a true living thing. We can no longer wrap ourselves around the alluring promise of the next big thing since more often than not, we can easily discover out what it is. We don’t need Samsung to tell us that “the next big thing is already here” or Gatorade to tease the G-series only to deliver a let down.  No, we need more!

We need, no, crave, we crave mystery and in that Facebook has already delivered. Sure, what is announced today could be a small as Ratatouille or obvious as launching a mobile OS but that isn’t the point. Mark Zuckerburg has already delivered on the promise that he is still the next big thing. Like the late, great Steve Jobs, we the audience salivate at the hint of what comes next. That the media was invited helps to build the buzz, intrigue and mystery.

Now don’t get me wrong, this tease could backfire. If this becomes a boy who cried wolf scenario or a Pandora’s box of consumer pay-for-messaging pain, well, let’s just say that the outcry will be huge. Facebook’s stock has already risen preannouncement but there could be a Manny Pacquaioesque flurry that could weaken the social media Goliath.

Personally, I hope the change is small in that it deals primarily with making the interface more user-friendly, such as making updates to the Newsfeed and Timeline or adding Skypelike video options, but I fear for the worst. I fear that Zuckerburg aims to make Facebook the next Google and he will use increased advertising to pay for it. I fear for the worst since once this happens, the box is forever open. I fear but damn it if I don’t want to hear!

UPDATE!!!

Facebook has opened the box and it isn’t going to end the world, instead it will just make everything more user friendly thanks to ‘Graph Search’. Phew! Read all about it through Bostinno‘s live blog and/or check out the beta site here!