I prefer http://freakinghugeurl.com/
I almost never click on any link that isnât to something I can see where Iâm going. So shortened URLs are a good way to get me to ignore whatever it was you wanted me to see. 
Similarly when programmers use services like âpastieâ to put a code sample up and then post a question to a mailing list linking back to the pastie URL, I generally ignore those questions.
What no comments about http://www.socuteurl.com/
Coding Horror becomes http://www.socuteurl.com/berrybuggy
stack overflow: http://www.socuteurl.com/bunnyslippers
The best usage for URL shorteners is Rickrolling. Especially the ones that let you specify the text of the link.
Max - good call. Hereâs a link to tinyurl.com: http://www.freakinghugeurl.com/refer.php?count=12&url=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
I use URL shortening services on crazy long URLâs when I know whomever Iâm sending it to is going to have a tough time actually getting it to work. It works well for that, otherwise I agree.
Coincidentally, the URL shortener Cligs was hacked and 2.2 million URLs were changed. This time it was a harmless link. Next time it could be a link to a malicious site that infects your systems.
âI still think twitter is hype, the very definition of self-regard. Who cares what you think?â
Thereâs something about this statement thatâs oddly retarded⌠oh yes. YOUâRE COMMENTING ON THE INTERNET ABOUT HOW PEOPLE SHOULDNâT COMMENT ON THE INTERNET!
What seperates Twitter from Blog Comments, other than the fact that people have to actively select you as interesting on Twitter, whereas Blog Comments merely require them to be interested in the blog youâre commenting on?
People commenting against Twitter, recursing hypocrisy since 2008.
âThe web has been leveraged far beyond what one would have expected. Along comes a rather silly app (you know it is when it is referenced on the news daily and even your grandmother uses it)â
Erm, isnât that Google?
Dear lord, itâs like listening a bunch of grandfathers complaining about the days when there were none of these âdang short trousers and long-haired menâ.
First, Twitter is designed to be be about the now - what are you doing? What are you thinking? What is happening around you? As a result, the fact that it may not be optimal when referring to past tweets is largely irrelevant (except, of course, itâs being used for much more than originally intended).
Second, the thing thatâs killing Twitter isnât the fact that URLs are being shortened left, right and centre; itâs the fact that loads of people are just spamming out links of stuff they just saw and thought âthatâs cool - EVERYONE should now about this video of a cat falling off a sofa/SteveYâs latest epicâ, often tweeted without commentary (because, face it, how much commentary can you put in 140 chars?) If people stopped just tweeting EVERY âcoolâ link they came across, the utility of Twitter would be vastly improved.
And you know where this is going: my worst culprit for this behaviour? Jeff Atwood, jâaccuse! [actually, youâve been a lot better recently. Have you been too busy to surf?]
http://www.friendfeed.com: no 140 chars limit, -> no shorteners, or any @# metadata in my content!
Plus, if you follow twitters on FF, theyâll unshorten the links, so youâll haver a better idea what youâre clicking on.
But really, check out FriendFeed.
Great post ! Couldnât agree more.
Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of something this morning.
Well, i see it more as a service, people see it as a service to extend business and news media sees it as a TRP boosting interest factorâŚ
âAm I really getting all the newsâ No. You are not getting ALL of the news here in the USA. You are getting a severely polished up version of what the liberal media THINKS is the news. As far as Twitter goes? Its a waste of my time. I dont have time to tell the world that I am eating âeverythingâ bagels with espresso in my PJs as I wait for a VS 2008 build to complete. No need for anyone to know this level of information AND when people begin to figure out just how intrusive all this âsocialâ crap really is and what an invasion of privacy that it really is â theyâll stop.
Looks like security issues are very pertininet.
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2009/06/cligs.html?_log_from=rss
I donât understand your problem with the URL shorteners. I think you are exaggerating one websiteâs role. Itâs not that everyone on the planet uses said Twitter, I donât even know what it is. If you believe their URL handling is bad, why donât you complain to them?
There are way too many people who think that anyone else gives a crap about what they had for breakfast, but they canât all be on TV.
@Robert S. Robbins âIâm not sick of the mainstream news coverage because I donât watch TV. When you watch TV, the corporations win.â
NPR went over the edge some months ago with a coordinated âtwitterâ use/PR campaign for all of their hosts and programs. It is quite annoying for those of us who donât use IM and their ilk.