Instagram kicks off worldwide photo stream

The photo-sharing social network creates a desktop-optimized stream that displays how users around the globe -- from Dakar to Dublin to Doha -- are ringing in the New Year.

Instagram's New Year's Eve photo stream.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dara Kerr/CNET)

   Millions of Instagram users are documenting their night as confetti is thrown, party horns are blown, and revelers count down to 2013. The photo-sharing social network has decided to put all of these photos in one place -- a desktop-optimized New Year's Eve photo stream.
"We love seeing photos shared from all different parts of the world," Instagram wrote in a blog post today. "At instagram.com/nye, you can see photos from every part of the world as the clock strikes midnight in a given time zone."

Time zones include every country that rings in the New Year at the same time. For example, as London celebrates 2013, so do Dakar, Casablanca, and Lisbon. Users can toggle the navigation button at the bottom of the page and hop from one time zone to another. Although Instagram's photo stream can be seen on both mobile devices and desktop browsers, it's far more comprehensive on the social network's desktop version. In this version, users can see several photos at once and pick and choose what time zone they'd like to see. In the mobile version, there is only one photo that changes every few seconds and no way to toggle to another time zone.
The built-out desktop version may be a sign of times to come for the New Year as Instagram aims to move from a mobile-only app to a more inclusive platform for a larger audience.