Is it safe to go on internet explorer and go on facebook after reformatting, without windows updates?

While indeed you can do a lot while the machine is updating, surfing beings with it the issue of malware infected websites. Facebook/Google/etc are all very well known very popular public sites. The likelihood that they would be infected is pretty low. Many times its the the sites that you frequent, but the third party ads that are added. Sometimes these ads can actually be compromised and you get a legit site with a BAD ad and be subject to malware attack. But my suggestion would be when you reload, immediately load your AV. Then go back in and get your OS patches, followed by checking to ensure that you have all the latest and greatest with the software you are planning to use. My suggestion: patch then surf.

No, always maintain up-to-date your operating system. Also remember to check links of facebook with http://www.urlvoid.com/ and http://www.spycss.com/ to know if the site is infected/scam or if it is safe to visit. Both services are free to use and I would recommend to check all unknown websites before visiting them.