Welcome back to ”: Code Against the Clock :!” blog series where I’ll reveal how I turned my most boring tasks into streamlined, time-saving machines. I’ll share the exact steps I took to automate these chores and the cool tricks I discovered along the way. Ready to see how you can save time and make life a bit more exciting? Let’s dive in and get your tasks on autopilot!
My Unexpected Online Hustle
Let’s rewind to my college days. I was on a quest to find ways to earn some extra cash online while learning something new. During my research, I stumbled upon a service called Sbitly. The concept was intriguing: it’s a URL shortening platform where you paste a long link, and it gives you a shortened version. The twist? When people click on these shortened links, they first see an ad before being redirected to the original site. You get paid for each click, and it seemed like a neat way to earn money.
I thought, “Why not automate this process?” With a bit of Python and Selenium magic, I set out to streamline this task and see how far I could take it.
The Automation Project:
Here’s a peek into how I tackled this project:
1. Tools of the Trade:
- Python: Chosen for its simplicity and versatility. It’s a powerhouse for scripting and automation.
- Selenium: The go-to tool for web automation. It allows you to control a web browser programmatically, making it perfect for interacting with web interfaces.
2. The Plan:
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Scraping Tech Blogs: I wanted to gather a list of tech blog URLs to shorten. Sites like House of Bots, Fossbytes, and The Hacker News were my targets. For this, I used Python’s BeautifulSoup library to scrape these sites for interesting blog links.
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Shortening URLs: Using Selenium, I automated the process of visiting Sbitly, pasting the URLs, and retrieving shortened links.
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Sharing on Facebook: Finally, I needed to share these shortened URLs on Facebook and in Facebook groups. Again, Selenium was used to automate the posting process, ensuring that all the links were shared efficiently.
Note: As of now, the Sbitly website is no longer active. The automation techniques and code examples shared here are based on my experience with the platform while it was operational.
You can find the code for this project here and watch a demo video here.
Your Turn!
Have you ever automated a task using code? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below! What tasks do you wish you could automate? Let’s discuss!
Thanks for joining me on this automation journey. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for more tips and updates. Happy coding!