Being very new to the Twitter scene, I wonder just how many “Tweeters” get the sense of being sucked into the Twitterdom whirlwind. I am probably close to being obsessive-compulsive when it comes to details, but Twitter is at light-speed and my time restrictions and mental processing capabilities conjure up visions of my presence on Twitter getting sucked in and spit out before I finish this article.

Unless you are a total recluse you probably have some sense of what I am feeling. Twitter has been on the national news, and played an integral role in the uprising in Iran over the elections. Anyone can get a Twitter account and tweet anything they want (within the confines of the usage agreement).

My online presence first and foremost is the result of a driving intrigue into how it works. Close to twelve years ago I built my first website using a (yes) WebTV. I’m not sure if they even make those anymore. I now have 6 computers all of which have re-installed operating systems and are configured with what I consider the finest (to date) security, anti-virus and maintenance software available on a limited budget, on a network I struggled to take to a now operational level.

All of this as a result of my compulsion to learn about building websites. But I digress for two paragraphs, Twitter is not only “global free speech” but part of the “Web2.0, social marketing” phenomenon, and thus I must use it to share my knowledge and experience on my site [jedsweb.com] which is also (honest disclosure) a way to finance my compulsion. And hopefully, if done right, to fuel my ability to grow in the ability to help others.

My first tweet was “Her’s a simple way to improve pageviews, from the Willmaster:” (complete with impressive misspelling). The next tweet was the link to Will Bontrager’s article [JavaScript Snippet Doubles PageStats]

which Twitter shortened to “http://bit.ly/3b60bh”

Thus my first lesson, that Twitter has a character limit for tweets. I had to ask my daughter who like most of her generation naturally has a Twitter account, who instructed me to “cont…” the tweet.

But do check out Will’s article if you would like a simple way to help improve pageviews on your website. That method has other benefits as well, like preventing other sites from loading your page in a frame.

And here’s one I just fell over: If you are using Twitter as a marketing tool check this out: Tracking Twitter Links
Some of the comments discuss the url-shortening services and how one of them “uses a frame-based redirection”, with a link to
http://tips.webdesign10.com/javascript/prevent-framing-of-your-web-site. The very same code That Will Bontrager has discovered to increase pageviews.

Let’s go one more step. Url shortening with redirection. If you have a short domain name you can create your own short url’s. Like the two I use on my hosting site, http://jedsweb.com/reseller.php and http://jedsweb.com/dedicated.php for services that I am unable to provide.

The application here is to prevent visitors from detecting that they are affiliate links (that’s a whole ‘nother discussion). The code:

(Credit to the Willmaster for the code…he didn’t write it but did direct me in using it).

That not only shortens the url, but redirects almost invisibly with content equals 0.

So let’s try it on Twitter: My short url on Twitter

So my question here is why do we relegate ourselves to using short url services? You can get a short domain name at your favorite registrar, or from (shameless plug) jedsweb.com and maintain control over your short urls (see “Why Frame Hijacking Is Bad“). Its quick and easy and you can monitor the clicks from your control panel stats link.

Bonus: check it out – http://screenr.com/nTs . Check out this screencast “Install a URL shortening service on your own domain.”

Use the free screenr service to record your own screencasts to post to Twitter.

Technorati Tags: short url, Twitter

Tags: short url, Twitter
Categories: Twitter, Web 2.0

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Twitter, Web 2.0. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.