Category: Side Project

The end of Google URL Shortener

The Rise and Fall of Goo.gl

Tim Leave a comment

What will happen when billions of links vanish overnight? That’s exactly what is going to occur when Google’s URL shortener, Goo.gl, shut down after dominating the link-shortening market for nearly a decade. Google first launched their URL Shortener service Goo.gl on December 14th, 2009 right around the time Twitter and Bitly were taking off. There was a need for short links for services like Twitter where character limits were important. Eventually, they launched analytics and an API which was heavily adopted and over time was used to create billions of short links. Ahrefs has recorded over 26 Billion short URL backlinks to the Google URL Shortener over the past 16 years. That doesn’t account for short links shared privately.

“Goo.gl’s API became the default url shortener for developer’s, powering applications and marketing campaigns worldwide. From tracking clicks to enhancing user engagement, the service was used by thousands of applications.”

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Build Your SaaS Podcast

Tim Leave a comment

I got a chance to be on the Build Your SaaS podcast with Justin Jackson and share my journey building side projects over the past 10+ years. I’ve been following Justin for years; it was awesome chatting with him! We dived into multiple topics around:

  • What guardrails did I put in place with a family, full-time job, and building side projects
  • What’s the sales funnel of T.LY URL Shortener?
  • How family motivates me
  • Strategies for building a business with a full-time job and family
  • The pressure of going full-time on a side project
  • SEO strategy of T.LY
  • SaaS pricing: is it ok to be the cheapest?
  • What’s it been like being full-time on T.LY?

Highlights

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Embracing Failure The Journey of a Builder and Maker

Embracing Failure: The Journey of a Builder and Maker

Tim Leave a comment

Have you ever looked at a successful founder and thought, “Wow, they must have just gotten lucky”? It’s easy to assume that someone had overnight success, but the truth is often much different. It’s also easy to use this as an excuse why you won’t build your own project. In fact, most builders and makers have many failed projects before they finally hit on the one that takes off.

These failures are often the result of years of hard work and determination, and they are just as important as the success that eventually follows. This post is inspired by Pieter Levels’ tweet on how only 4 out of hit 70+ projects ever made money, and 95% of everything he made failed.

Unfortunately, many people only see the end result and miss the years of struggle and failure that went into it. This can be discouraging, especially for those who are just starting out on their own building or making a journey. But the truth is that failure is an important part of the process, and it’s something that every successful builder or maker has experienced.

This blog post will cover the past 10+ years of my past projects. Some are still around, but most have been shut down. I’ll explore why embracing failure and learning from it is important. I’ll share why it’s important for builders to persevere through years of failure before finally achieving success. Whether you’re a seasoned builder or maker or just starting out, I hope this post will inspire you to keep pushing forward, even when things get tough. Read More

Who Twitter Blue?

Tim 1 Comment

Update 12/18/2022: With Twitter’s recent changes, the extension broke. I made this as a joke and did not plan to maintain it. If you are looking for an alternative, check out this extension.

Maybe you have heard about Twitter being in the news lately 🤣. With Elon’s recent purchase of Twitter and the release of Twitter Blue Verification, there has been a lot of discussion around the “Verification Icon.” In the past, its always been reserved for those notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category. Some users are excited to be verified finally, and some think it will ruin Twitter.

Who Twitter Blue Extension

Inspired by Wes Bos’s Tweet, I hacked together a Chrome Extension that swaps out the verification icon with an emoji for users who paid for Twitter Blue. You can choose between 🤑, 💰, or 💩 emoji icons—also, thanks to  Will Seagar and Walter Lim for their eight-dollars package. Remember, this extension is just for fun and is not to be taken too seriously. Warning it could break at any time.

Install Who Twitter Blue

Who Twitter Blue Screenshot

 

I’m curious what are your thoughts on the changes to the verification system and Twitter Blue?