The popularity of tiny URLs

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TinyURL™ is a web service that provides short aliases for redirection of long URLs. Kevin Gilbertson, a web developer, launched the service in January 2002 so that he would be able to link directly to newsgroup postings which frequently had long and cumbersome addresses.

Short URL aliases are seen as useful because they make sharing easier -- easier to write down, remember or pass around. They are less error-prone to write, fit where space is limited, will not break in email postings and never expire. Learn more about creating your own TinyURL’s at http://tinyurl.com.

A little startup called Bit.ly has unseated TinyURL as the default link shortening service on Twitter. But Bit.ly isn’t just about shortening links. It’s really a trend management and metrics platform that not only allows users to shorten, and share, but also track links (URLs). Unique user-level and aggregate links are created, allowing users to view complete, real-time traffic and referrer data, as well as location and metadata.

Bit.ly recently released a Firefox plug-in that you can add to your browser. It lets users hover over shortened URLs from a wide variety of services, including TinyURL™, and see the resulting full URL - as well as how many people have clicked through the shortcut. Bit.ly is integrated into several popular third-party tools such as ‘Tweetdeck’. It's not perfect yet, but it holds a lot of promise.

Mobile Tiny URL is a URL shortener service optimized for mobile devices with a numerical keypad. If you want to browse a website in your mobile device, download an image, app or game, or share mobile content with friends and followers, now you can just simplify the mobile content access. It will save you a lot of typing (between 50% and 95%). You can share the Mobile Tiny URL in your blog, social network, website, email or in a printed brochure or article. Learn more about mobile tiny URLs at http://www.mobiletinyurl.com.