As far as I understood, facebook are going IPO sometime around mid-next week (1 Feb I guess).. I do hold an account on swissquote, but didn't get my cash running yet.. Just thought to ask (being an absolute newbie), are IPOs offered for the public, just like me? And if yes, how/when can I place an order on those shares through swissquote?

I keep my fingers crossed, hoping to avoid the 'use the search function' phrase

Which search function? For EF or lmgtfy.com?

Typically, no. IPOs are generally offered to large investors or syndicates of investors. They can be open to the public but only if you meet certain minimum requirements. That is, at least, my limited understanding based on....Google searching.

The P in IPO stands for 'Public' (Initial Public Offering). Public would include Retail + Institutional Investors. You can definitely subscribe to it in the retail quota once the issue is on offer (Assuming you fit the criteria). You need to go through the offer document to judge your eligibility.
There is no guarantee though, that you will be allotted the number of shares you applied for, because it depends upon the total number of subscriptions the offer recieves. Hope this helps.

Most IPOs in the US are 'open' to the public. open as in sure you can apply... getting your hands on any is a bit like the lotto.

If you ask me, the 100Bn valuation is nuts. I would rather wait for the usual 6 months until after the founders and insiders and the bankers are able to get out, and then see where it settles. I'm betting it will be worth a lot less than 100Bn a year from now.

I agree with you on this one dino..

It strikes me as one of those IPOs that's relying entirely on the significant press coverage and not at all on what used to be known as fundamentals. But hey, what do I know? I'm poor.

In any case, the real winners will be the ones having a share before the IPO.