Why You Shouldn’t Rely On Tech Bloggers
Don’t always trust tech bloggers, even on reputable sites, because some of them just don’t know what they’re talking about.
This morning I found this article on Silicon Alley Insider via Atlanta startup chick, Jen Bonnett on Twitter arguing that URL shortening services are unreliable and should be avoided, in response to the URL shortener tr.im (owned by Nambu) deciding to shut down. I highly disagreed with this article and think that all of Frommer’s arguments were poorly supported and commented as reposted below.
I can’t say I agree with this article in the slightest. URL shorteners are primarily used via Twitter, IM and other such short-in-breadth communication methods.
These also are platforms where messages tend to be more short-lived in lifespan vs something like a webpage, blog post or even an email. MEANING that messages posted on these shorter lifespan environments are usually digested immediately or within a week or so of their publishing date. These messages then are in essence archived and only stumbled upon by those researching the author or searching for related content on the specified medium.
In regards to tr.im specifically? Yes, there will be many broken links when they phase out the service at the end of 2009. Will it hurt the internet? Not much. By the time they phase out the service, those who had utilized their link shortening earlier won’t need to be using those links anymore because they won’t be relevant. If it is something that is still relevant after this long period, I don’t expect it will be something difficult for them to re-shorten using bit.ly if they deem it necessary.
bit.ly has never proven service issues. @Daniel – from israel: Twitter, in the words on tr.im, “has all but annointed bit.ly the market winner” and is not likely to go anywhere for awhile. They are running a tight ship over there.
Branded URL shortening methods are a great idea from a marketing and branding perspective but isn’t a viable option for everyone.
Long URLs junk up the social streams and should be avoided. If you tweet a long link, Twitter will shorten it with bit.ly ANYWAYS. You might as well use a bit.ly account so you can keep your stats from all of your links in a single place for reference. By doing this, you can also see the lifespan of your shortened URL. bit.ly not only tracks clickthrough but WHEN those clickthroughs occurred.
What are your thoughts? What URL shortener do you use?
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August 11th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Right on, Tessa.
August 11th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Wow. I didn't mean to be controversial. Just thought it was interesting. I use URL Shorteners for Twitter/Facebook; but, tend to stay away from them on sites/blogs. My reasoning… while unscientific, is that I think they could potentially detract from SEO. I don't know that for a fact; but, I'd rather be safe than sorry… just my two cents.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I don't think you were controversial. You just brought this article to my attention.
Have you seen people use URL shorteners on sites/blogs? I can't imagine the use for that as the analytics that you can get from your site (via onsite tool or third party script) can offer you that data.
URL shorteners do break the internet a bit which is why I think they're fantastic for shorter-lived shorter-breadth online communicating (Twitter, Facebook, IM, etc) and don't make a whole lot of sense for, like you pointed out, blogs and websites.
August 13th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I don't think you were controversial. You just brought this article to my attention.
Have you seen people use URL shorteners on sites/blogs? I can't imagine the use for that as the analytics that you can get from your site (via onsite tool or third party script) can offer you that data.
URL shorteners do break the internet a bit which is why I think they're fantastic for shorter-lived shorter-breadth online communicating (Twitter, Facebook, IM, etc) and don't make a whole lot of sense for, like you pointed out, blogs and websites.