Bit.ly, one of the better-known sites in the URL shortening business, has announced the release of a premium version of its own URL shortener. Google has also announced its own URL-shortening solution, although it will be restricted, for now, to Google's own services.
Bit.ly's service, dubbed Bit.ly Pro, lets sites create custom URLs, using shortened version of their own domains. Google's own URL shortener uses http://goo.gl as a short-form URL.
Bit.ly's service promises "transparency," with the a form of the official site in the shortened URL itself, such as nyti.ms for The New York Times. Adding a "+" to the end of the URL will bring you to a destination page that offers additional information about the site.
The pro version of Bit.ly is now in beta, upon up to a select number of high-profile sites, such as AOL, Bing, The Onion, and The Wall Street Journal.
On Monday, Google announced that it has launched its own proprietary URL shortener, which it has dubbed Google URL Shortener. The new service was launched as part of updated versions of Google Toolbar and Feedburner.
According to Google, URL Shortener features built-in security, automatically detecting the sites it indexes for malware. The service also relies on Google's infrastructure to "provide great uptime and a reliable service to...users."
Unlike sites like TinyURL and Bit.ly, Google URL can't be used as a standalone service. Users can only take advantage of it via Toolbar and FeedBurner.
Facebook is also reportedly testing its own URL-shortening service, but it has yet to launch.
Youtube also jumped on board..
Users can either access the feature automatically by linking up their YouTube account to Twitter and Google Reader via AutoShare or by manually replacing the URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=" with "http://youtu.be/".
Sources: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2357449,00.asp and http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2357128,00.asp
Bit.ly's service, dubbed Bit.ly Pro, lets sites create custom URLs, using shortened version of their own domains. Google's own URL shortener uses http://goo.gl as a short-form URL.
Bit.ly's service promises "transparency," with the a form of the official site in the shortened URL itself, such as nyti.ms for The New York Times. Adding a "+" to the end of the URL will bring you to a destination page that offers additional information about the site.
The pro version of Bit.ly is now in beta, upon up to a select number of high-profile sites, such as AOL, Bing, The Onion, and The Wall Street Journal.
On Monday, Google announced that it has launched its own proprietary URL shortener, which it has dubbed Google URL Shortener. The new service was launched as part of updated versions of Google Toolbar and Feedburner.
According to Google, URL Shortener features built-in security, automatically detecting the sites it indexes for malware. The service also relies on Google's infrastructure to "provide great uptime and a reliable service to...users."
Unlike sites like TinyURL and Bit.ly, Google URL can't be used as a standalone service. Users can only take advantage of it via Toolbar and FeedBurner.
Facebook is also reportedly testing its own URL-shortening service, but it has yet to launch.
Youtube also jumped on board..
Users can either access the feature automatically by linking up their YouTube account to Twitter and Google Reader via AutoShare or by manually replacing the URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=" with "http://youtu.be/".
Sources: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2357449,00.asp and http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2357128,00.asp
