'"Some of these companies want to go public because they want to beat Facebook and others out," said one of the sources.'<p>What's the value for being first with an IPO? Who does this matter to? Honest question.<p>'"If Facebook went public before Linkedin, do you think anyone would pay that much attention to Linkedin?" You might want to surpass the beast."'<p>Again, who does this matter to and why? They are similar companies but they are different in ways that matter regarding target audience.