April Fools Day in the age of the Internet

It’s become an annual tradition: websites playing increasingly elaborate pranks for April Fools Day. The only downside is that it’s now so common that the pranks rarely fool anybody anymore. But they’re still pretty occasionally funny.

I’m not planning to compile an exhaustive list, but I will update this post throughout the day as I come across them.

Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink
The nearly two-centuries-old UK newspaper will begin the process of converting all of its archives to tweets. A couple of samples: “OMG Hitler invades Poland, allies declare war see tinyurl.com/b5x6e for more”; and “JFK assassin8d @ Dallas, def. heard second gunshot from grassy knoll WTF?”
Brand New: Verizon Turns to the Clouds
The country’s largest wireless carrier unveils a rebranding that, frankly, doesn’t hold water. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
No Lions and Orioles and Bears? Oh, my!
I heard this on NPR this morning, but since it’s online as well, I figured it counts.
Amazon MP3 Daily Deal: William Shatner’s The Transformed Man for 99 cents
OK, this isn’t technically a prank — you really can buy the album for 99 cents today. But I think the date is no coincidence.
Amazing: The Swiss even clean their mountains
Not quite sure if this video is an April Fools joke or just a regular old joke, but it’s a good one regardless.
Alpine Legend
Coming soon (or not) to the XBOX 360. This joke was already done much better back in 2007
Slashdot
Just about everything on Slashdot today is an April Fools joke, which is diminishing my enthusiasm for this whole enterprise. Also, Gizmodo was apparently hit by the Conficker virus. Or was it? Yawn.

Found a gem of your own? Share it in the Comments section!