URL Shortening has been around for quite a while now. It’s the process of converting a long web address or URL into a much shorter link. Services like tinyurl.com, bit.ly, shortURL.com, trunk.it, ow.ly, j.mp, (many more not listed), and now goo.gl provide simple ways to shorten long URLs into manageable short URLs. Now that Google is in the playing field, it may be tough on little guys that have been around for a long time…
Google URL Shortener
Google URL Shortener at goo.gl is a service that takes long URLs and squeezes them into fewer characters to make a link that is easier to share, tweet, or email to friends. The core goals of this service are:
- Stability – ensuring that the service has very good uptime
- Security – protecting users from malware and phishing pages
- Speed – fast resolution of short URLs
Google URL Shortener is currently available for Google products and not for broader consumer use.
For now Google will introduce it as part of the browser toolbar and the Feedburner RSS service but will likely end up being a more broadly integrated feature.
Why Shorten a URL?
Long URLs are notoriously difficult to deal with and often break when sent. Squeezing these into fewer characters makes for links that are easier to share, tweet, or email to friends or colleagues.
Example and How To:
- Select and copy any long URL
- Visit one of the URL shortening services like tinyURL.com
- Paste your long URL into the service and in this case, click Make TinyURL and viola!
Below is a good example of a typical link from IBM’s website. This one is for an actual IBM course that I may need to share with colleagues. You can easily see it will be difficult to share or send.
http://www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/services/learning/ites.wss/us/en?pageType=course_description&includeNotScheduled=y&courseCode=VD155
A quick visit to TinyURL.com and we have a manageable and easily shared link. Actual results are shown below. The link was 132 characters long and is now only 26 characters. I can now use or share the shortened URL, http://tinyurl.com/ydxbmkf
TinyURL was created!
The following URL:
http://www-304.ibm.com/jct03001c/services/learning/ites.wss/
us/en?pageType=course_description&includeNotScheduled=y&cour
seCode=VD155
has a length of 132 characters and resulted in the following TinyURL which has a length of 26 characters:
The Dangers Lurking Behind Short URLs
Follow shortened URLs with caution! An excellent article from Business Week provides you more info and helpful tips.
Click to read full Businessweek article…
Which URL shortener is your favorite and why?
How has this helped you? Do you have stories, examples or questions to share?
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