Google and Facebook both introduced URL shortening services, similar to bit.ly and TinyURL, this week. These new shortening services are currently aimed at the respective company’s own products, but should still be of interest to web developers, particular if those developers use Google’s FeedBurner service to syndicate content for various projects.
Although URL shortening predates the Twitter-imposed 140-character limit on microblogging, the services have become popular in Twitter’s wake. They significantly reduce the length of a URL so that it is easier to share on social media sites or via mobile handset. Several free or fee-based services have arisen to meet user demand, including the aforementioned bit.ly and TinyURL services.
Both the new Google and new Facebook offerings do not seem to compete with current services—at least not yet—but rather act as a feature for the company’s products.
Google Launches Goo.gl
The Google service has been applied to the Google Toolbar and to FeedBurner. In the Toolbar, the goo.gl service will make it easier for users to capture the URL for a favorite blog post or product description page and submit it to any number of communities or social news sites.
“People share a lot of links online. This is particularly true as microblogging services such as Twitter have grown in popularity,” wrote Google software engineers, Muthu Muthusrinivasan, Ben D’Angelo, and Devin Mullins on "The Official Google Blog". “First, we think people who use the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner will benefit from a shortener that is easily accessible—making it faster and easier to share, post and email links. Second, we've built this on Google's global infrastructure to offer several benefits . . ." including stability, security, and speed.
Although Google did not describe exactly how goo.gl would work with FeedBurner, it will be important for web developers to follow since it may mean that feed URLs will be automatically shortened.
Facebook’s Fb.me Primarily for Mobile
Facebook’s fb.me shortener is applied when users submit status updates via mobile handset. According to the "Inside Facebook" blog, Facebook began converting mobile submissions recently and may be testing the service.
For now the fb.me domain can be used to replace any Facebook.com link.
Related Articles
This article is filed under Development News & Trends and has the following keyword tags: Google, Facebook, bitly, TinyURL, googl, fbme.
