Best URL Shorteners

When every character counts, the right URL compacting service can mean the difference between saying what you want and desperately trying to fit a coherent thought into a few insufficient words. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite URL shrinking tools, and now we’re back with the five most popular answers. Read on for a closer look at the five best URL shrinkers and to vote for the site you like best.

Cli.gs (Current Default Size: 20 characters)

Cli.gs is the most feature-rich URL shortener of the bunch. It combines the click tracking analytics of Bit.ly with the editing capabilities of SnipURL, then rounds it off with a competitive default size. Cli.gs has way more features in its analytics than Bit.ly, including a nice graph of hits, a world map of visitors, referrer stats, blog engine sightings, and even references on sites like Twitter, FriendFeed, or blogs. And—naturally—don’t forget to install the Cli.gs bookmarklet if you like it.

Is.gd (Current Default Size: 17 characters)

Is.gd (pronounced “is good”) has won over a lot of users by simple making small URLs even smaller—shrinking URLs to a tiny 17 characters by default. It’s not packed with features, but if you don’t need anything but a shrunken URL and quick redirect, it does the job. You can preview an Is.gd link before taking the redirect ride by simply adding a hyphen after the generated URL (so http://is.gd/4FsT becomes http://is.gd/4FsT-. Plan on using it a lot? Try installing the is.gd bookmarklet or Firefox extension. If you’ve got space to spare, you can add your own context to an is.gd URL by adding a “/” to the end and adding your own keywords, like http://is.gd/4/news-site/for/nerds.

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Why Popularity at Work Matters

In high school, didn’t a part of you always wonder how the cool kids did it? Popularity remained an enigmatic aspect of human existence that ceased to be relevant once we threw our caps in the air…right?

There are scores of research studies on popularity in schools, and most have indicated that popular children are viewed as better students and make and maintain friendships more easily. In 2009, however, organizational psychologists Timothy Judge and B.A. Scott at the University of Florida demonstrated that popularity plays a significant role on success in the workplace. They defined popularity as being “accepted by one’s peers” and conceptualized it as a function of both an employee’s personality and the situational position within his group. As a result of studying two samples of employee populations, professors Judge and Scott reported that co-workers reliably agreed about who was popular on their team – and who wasn’t. Co-workers also felt that an employee’s popularity was associated with receiving more favorable treatment at work. Why? Judge and Scott suggest that popular employees are rewarding to interact with for both emotional and instrumental reasons. In addition to being “fun to be with,” popular individuals are thought to increase co-worker status by association and make it easier to get things done.

Here are some painless tips for increasing your popularity on the office social circuit.

• Be interested in other people: Human beings love to talk about themselves and be listened to. By taking the time to learn about what a co-worker deems important and inquiring about those things, you’ll make her happy and encourage her to like you.
• Shift attention away from yourself: Don’t chat on endlessly about what you and your boyfriend or girlfriend did over the weekend, and if a co-worker broaches a particular topic, don’t immediately turn the discussion to your own experiences. Instead of trying to be admired, be admiring.
• Eradicate self-consciousness: People who lack confidence make others feel nervous and awkward. When conversing with co-workers, try to be natural and relaxed, without worrying about how you’re being perceived.
• Organize team building activities: You don’t have to be your department’s cheerleader, but it’s nice to occasionally take charge of getting the group together for drinks or another fun activity after work or during the holidays. Most people like to be social, and the individual who takes responsibility for being the organizer usually gets popularity points.
• Help whenever you can: Always be generous with your knowledge, expertise, and time without expecting anything in return. People like those who they can count on in times of stress and who are willing to pitch in without making a big production out of it.

via LifeHack.org

Courtesy of Twitter and Facebook Users: 2009 In One Word

On December 31, 2009, NPR ask Twitter and Facebook users to summarize 2009 in one word. In a matter of hours, they received almost 5000 replies. They use the tag cloud generator Wordle. The above image is what they get.

via NPR

10 great Google Chrome extensions

On Dec. 8, Google finally released a repository of extensions for Google Chrome. Chrome extensions numbered at more than 300 on launch day. As a beta project, extensions come with a few caveats from Google. For the moment, Google is only supporting extensions in its latest beta version of Chrome, so if you prefer the official, stable browser, you’ll have to forgo add-on tools for now. Interestingly, the version of Chrome that supports extensions, dubbed “the Beta Channel” version, is only available on XP and Vista, not Windows 7, though Google has promised that extensions will soon be available for Google’s new Mac version of Chrome, too.

In the meantime, Google Subnet blogger Julie Bort has scoured the extension library to come up with the ones that she thinks will boost your productivity at work. But she couldn’t stop there. She added a few that are just plain fun, too.

Here’s the list of her picks, which links to her write up of why she picked it, a screenshot, and a link to download the add-on. If you’d rather browse through the 300 extensions directly, here’s the link. Happy hunting.

1. Web of Trust
2. Xmarks Bookmark Sync
3. Shareaholic for Google Chrome
4. LastPass for Chrome
5. IE Tab
6. Cooliris
7. ShowIP
8. MakeGadget
9. RandomMagic
10. Jamendo Radio

via NetworkWorld