^[1] Earlier today, Amit posted a note here, which told you about a Firefox add-on to create short URLs with Goo.gl ^[2]. My immediate thought was:

How can I create Goo.gl links if I’m not using Firefox?

I wasn’t a bit surprised to find an answer at Marklets.com ^[3], one of my favorite spots to grab new bookmarklets. Bookmarklets will usually work in any modern web browser. If you don’t know what bookmarklets are, see this FAQ ^[4].

Now, I’ll part the curtain to display the Goo.gl Bookmarklet:

Drag the link above and drop it onto your web browser’s Bookmarks Toolbar, or right click and copy the address, then create a new bookmark. You can then move it to your bookmarks toolbar folder.

To use the Goo.gl bookmarklet, all you have to do is click the bookmarklet in your toolbar when you are at a page that you want to shorten the URL for. Here’s what you’ll see when you click the bookmarklet.

^[6]

After the popup appears, highlight the short URL and copy it.

Here at Techie Buzz, we have also posted several other useful bookmarklets and links to lists of bookmarklets. You can find our posts about bookmarklets here ^[7].

Techie Buzz Verdict:

This bookmarklet could use some work. It would be nice if there were an easier way to grab the short URL instead of highlighting and copying. I also have to question the use of Goo.gl for shortening website addresses. Currently, there are far better URL shortening services out there, such as bit.ly and others we’ve mentioned ^[8] before.

Techie Buzz Rating: 2/5 (Below Average)