Twitter is going public, the social media mammoth made the announcement in the only appropriate way overnight – condensing the news into a punchy 135-character tweet.

Twitter says it has filed plans for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, ending a long period of speculation over when it would be floated.

The network now comprises over 200 million members, with analysts predicting a value around $10 billion Twitter’s IPO could be the biggest since, and affected by, Facebook’s $16 billion offering in 2012.

Buyer frenzy will be tamed by the rough outcome of Facebook’s float, with many investors still hurting from less than stellar returns.

Reports say Goldman Sachs is the leading contender for lead underwriter. There is some mystery surrounding the float so far though, with Twitter choosing to use a provision of the American JOBS Act allowing companies with under $1 billion in revenue to file IPO plans in secret. Filling confidentially means regulators will review the company’s documents without it having to disclose is financial details to the public.

Some are surprised at the lack of revenue from one of the internet’s most frequented sites, but Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said earlier this year that it is not the sole motivator.

“We think of revenue like oxygen... it's necessary for life, it's vital to the health and success of the business, but it's not the purpose of life. You don't get up in the morning and say, 'I've got to get enough oxygen.”

The company is expected to make well over half a billion US dollars in revenue this year, with massive profits not yet tapped through regionalised, local advertising, as Facebook has proven.

One concern raised so far has been whether Twitter will be set adrift on the New York Stock Exchange, or the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq which has been decried for mismanagement of Facebook's IPO and the “flash freeze” that halted trading for three hours in August.