goo.gl

Goo.gl Lite is a free extension that adds Google's Goo.gl URL shortener to the Mozilla Firefox toolbar. When you click the Goo.gl Lite icon, the program automatically generates a shortened URL and copies it to the Clipboard.

Goo.gl Lite installs much like other Firefox add-ons, although once it's installed, we needed to open the Firefox toolbar manager and drag the Goo.gl Lite icon to our browser's toolbar. Clicking Tools/Add-ons let us enable, disable, and uninstall it via the Add-Ons manager. Though the program offered no options, none are needed, since it … Read more

A new virus is infecting Twitter users through the use of URLs shortened by the goo.gl service.

Apparently triggered last night, the virus is spreading as a result of users clicking on links that start with http://goo.gl, Google's URL shortener. TechCrunch is saying that the virus started on Twitter's mobile site and has been growing through different URLs, including http://goo.gl/od0az and http://goo.gl/R7f68.

The virus tries to redirect unsuspecting users to malicious Web sites, according to Techweet, which says that the messages are coming from new, disposable Twitter accounts as … Read more

Jeff's back to complete a week of episodes, and although we don't normally condone eating on the air (because it's gross), we'll make an exception for Wilson's favorite treat--Lotte Koala chocolate cookies! Anyone else see the resemblance? On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we're delving into the bizarre world of Kindlerotica, aka e-reader pR0n; Groupon is offering $60,000 scholarships to any baby parented by a couple that used a Groupon on their first date; Google's new URL shortener Goo.gl; and a blacklist of words that Google considers too nasty to include in its Instant search feature.

Online coupon distributor Groupon just debuted the most ridiculous PR campaign we've seen in awhile--it's offering $60,000 college scholarships to Groupon babies, and here's how it works. To participate, two people must meet through Groupon's dating Web site Grouspawn, agree to go on a date at a restaurant that accepts Groupon coupons, and see what happens from there.

A Groupon baby is only eligible for the $60,000 scholarship prize if it was conceived on the first date, and proof must be obtained in the form of photographic evidence, credit card receipts, or waiter testimonials. Make sense? There are already 166 members on the Grouspawn Date Assistant, so get on it!

As of Wednesday of this week, the most downloaded novel on the Amazon Kindle Webstore was "Compromising Positions" by Jenna Bayley Burke. As you might not have guessed from the subtle wit in its name, "Compromising Positions" is an adult-rated novel that represents the latest trend in Kindlerotica, or e-porn.

Whereas classic romance novels are traditionally targeted at women, this latest genre is definitely written for men and most of the titles read like text out of Penhouse Forum letters. It's disturbing to think that people are actually reading these stories in public, but the problem may be that Amazon is distributing these stories for free, which explains why they keep popping up on the best-seller list.

None of us really get the appeal, and Jeff puts it best when he describes his visual affinity toward the subject matter. In either case, if you want to check it out, another novel called "Office Slave" seems to be a good place to start....but do everyone a favor and stay out of the subway when you read it, OK?

Speaking of dirty birdies, the 2600 just published the Google Blacklist--Words that Google Instant Doesn't Like, and there are a ton of submissions. Google Instant is a new search feature that shows results in real time as you type. It also relies on predictive results that could potentially save you two to five seconds per search, but that opens up the floodgates on certain words that Google deems universally offensive.

So alongside the standard four-letter cusswords and NSFW terms, there's also a heap of ambiguously dirty words like "golden," "lemon," "teen," and an entire section dedicated to variations on the word "dog." Use your imagination, or just check out the entire list, at your own discretion--this is your official NSFW warning!

Oh, Google also unveiled its own URL shortener called Goo.gl. FYI, we spend less time talking about that than it took for you to read the previous sentence.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Google's URL shortening service is now open to the world through a new Web site.

In an age of 140-character communication and mobile devices, URL shorteners are a godsend. However, the most popular third-party ones, such as Bit.ly and TinyURL, are run by smaller companies that aren't guaranteed to stick around for the long run: Google's Matt Cutts said today the company needed to develop its own "goo.gl" URL shortener "for its own products where we knew the shortener wouldn't go away."

So last December, Google started making goo.gl URLs … Read more

Have you been lusting over Google's free URL-shortening service but unwilling to install Google's browser toolbar to use it from non-Google sites?

You're not alone, and the good news is that there are now a handful of alternatives, my favorite being Googl Lite, a free Firefox add-on that shortens the URL of any page you're on through Googl, then copies that link into your system's clipboard.

The button, just a little more than 20 pixels wide, can be placed anywhere within your browser. And if you're not fond of downloads, you can use a software-free bookmarklet … Read more

The past few days have been good for Google. First it was a hot new Google-branded cell phone, followed up shortly thereafter by a new link-shortening service. This may seem like a very common feature these days with services like Bit.ly, but keep in mind that Google's big business is ads. The more it knows about where people are going on the Internet, the more advertising power it wields.

We also lead today's podcast with a developing story about a potential code ripoff of Plurk.com by Microsoft's MSN site in China.

Today's stories:

Microsoft pulls China site amid code-theft charges… Read more

Google ventured into new territory on Monday with the launch of a new URL-shortening service it's calling Googl.

Unlike some existing and high-profile shorteners such as TinyURL and Bitly, Googl is not a general-purpose link shrinker that users can access by going to a standalone site. Instead, it's been built into Google products, beginning with Google's browser toolbar and its FeedBurner RSS service. Both of those services can now create shortened Googl URLs that link to the source content while using fewer characters. This is especially important for sharing on places like Twitter, where there are size … Read more