Instagram’s New Year’s Eve photo stream is the first of its kind. Featuring photos of confetti throwing, countdowns, romantic dinners and exciting parties, the gallery collects and organizes all New Year’s photos documented by users across the globe.

Instagram’s blog explained:

“We love seeing photos shared from all different parts of the world. At instagran.com/nye, you can see photos from every part of the world as the clock strikes midnight in a given time zone.”

The navigation button at the bottom of the page allows users to jump between time zones. The stream is available in desktop and mobile settings, though the desktop browser version has many additional features.

Instagram has been working to expand their business by moving from a mobile-only app to a larger, broader platform. The desktop New Year’s Eve photo stream reveals a glimpse of what they have planned.

If you have a teen/pre-teen child, you may have heard of the song “Friday” or the 13-year-old singer Rebecca Black. Your children may have had extremely varied reactions, ranging from obsession to utter ridicule.

The song was written by Clarence Jay and Patrice Wilson, and sung by Rebecca Black, a 13-year old from Anaheim Hills, California. It was produced by the ARK Music Factory, and released on March 14th. Within its first week, it jumped to spot #19 on the iTunes sales chart. The music video also became a major hit on YouTube, jumping from 3,000 views to 18 million in a single week. The sudden climb in views was a result of a Tosh.0 blog titled “Songwriting Isn’t for Everyone.” Forbes has explained that the popularity of the song is yet another example of the power of social media- specifically Facebook, Twitter and in this case, Tumblr.

The song and video make heavy use of Auto-Tune, the pitch-correcting software. Black’s mother, Georgina Kelly, was the one who made it all possible for Rebecca. After hearing of ARK Music Factory, Kelly paid $2,000 for a package that included a choice of two pre-written songs. Black chose the song “Friday” because “the other song was about adult love- and I haven’t experienced that yet,” she explained. “’Friday’ is about hanging out with friends, having fun. I felt like it was my personality in that song.”

In a review for Rolling Stone, Black and her single were described as having a “peculiar tonality that inadvertently highlights the absurdity of boilerplate pop lyrics.” It also said Black sounds “unlike anything else in pop music.”

The reviews have been primarily negative, stating that it is “the worst song ever,” “bizarre,” “inept,” and “hilariously dreadful.” What do you think?