It’s Here! Well, here anyways.
Okay, I do get excited. But all that stuff in my last post is down the dumper as I just found a url shortener plugin for wordpress from Blurbia: http://jedsweb.net/j/e that makes the process of creating short url’s quicker, and still get the branding effect.
I can set it to allow anyone to use, which could be way cool for branding (Coke is doing it: http://jedsweb.net/j/coke ) but I think too big a step liability wise. (Note the configure-ability in that last link, way cool.)
I say liability, well look at these:
Some of the comments from those pages:
a URL shortening service being hacked could instill havoc across the web: destroying links to websites or (worse) turning them into malware links.
I think as the popularity of TinyURL, BudURL, bit.ly and others increases there will be an increased need to insure the security of the URL’s being delivered. It seems to be too easy for a spammer and others to propagate malware.
On this note, it’s not only the ability to obfuscate a URL that can make it potentially dangerous, but also the security of the shortening service itself.
In short (yuk) url shorteners are the thing to have for your own domain. This wordpress plugin is a must have:
The shortening of the url is not the problem. It is the decreased ability for the content providers to be able to maintain a sense of ownership that is worrying.
and
But more innovations, in the form of WordPress plugins, shorteners not reliant on 3rd party redirects, and social media features, are needed if URL shorteners are to be a mainstay of the web. I predict that there will be a day when every domain has URL shortening capabilities, lessening the load on the web and DNS.
There was also a comment that stated to have a shortener on his wordpress blog that anyone could use. Actually there were two blogs that claimed to allow visitors to use the shortener, neither worked. I sent him a mesage via twitter that his shortener had a fatal error, but the error message did indicate it was the same plugin I am using here with no problems. I also think the owner was a kid (from the Phillipines). Monchee, the work you have done on your blog is impressive, kudos. Visit here (Well I really don’t need to shorten here do I?)
Related info: Make Your Own ShortenerDon’t Snip Your Best AssetUrl Shorteners and Blacklists
