Google has opened its goo.gl link-shortening system to the general public.

There are already several big name systems out there, notable bit.ly, but Google launched goo.gl last December for use with its own systems, such as Google News and Picasa Web Albums. Now Goog.gl has its own website for wider use.

The Google shortener keeps track of previously shortened URLs via your Google account and features analytics such as traffic and top referrers. It doesn't offer customisable links, a feature on offer at bit.ly, or an API, although one is in the works.

Clearly aware that rival services offer a wider feature set, Google software engineer Muthu Muthusrinivasan said: "There are many shorteners out there with great features, so some people may wonder whether the world really needs yet another."

"We don’t intend to overload goo.gl with features, but we do want it to be the stablest, most secure, and fastest URL shortener on the web," he wrote in a post on the Google blog. "With goo.gl, every time you shorten a URL, you know it will work, it will work fast, and it will keep working."

Goo.gl also promises protection against spam and malware by using the same filtering system as Gmail.


Read more: Google URL shortener goes public | Security | News | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/36 ... z11He1xKFR

I'm still not sure why anyone would want to use a URL shortening service, unless they are texting a URL or sticking it in their Twitter feed.

It's used in publications eg newspapers, magazines, where typing the whole url could easily take up a paragraph or two!

I never do because I like people to see what site they are being lead to and can decide for themselves if they want to visit it.

You can normally preview them, though.

Yes but it is also easier if they are all visible. Probably still a good idea to check that the link goes to where it says it does.

The same sort of thing as TinyURL then?

Exactly but it will be a Google version!

But as Nick says you can preview them - you click the shortened link, it takes you to the TinyURL/bit.ly website and it shows you where the link goes (the full address).

Assuming you don't mind Google itself not being subject to that security...

Jon

It just seems like a lot of hard work for something so simple...

If we all used shortened URLs on here then I'd have to find a story I thought it was worth posting about, copy the URL, go to a URL shortening service, input my long URL and submit it, copy the short URL and paste it in here.
To use the link I need to click on it, and then confirm that I want to visit that page by going via the shorteners website...

Or, I could wrap my long URL in phpbb/html/other and users can still see where the URL goes and only needs to click on the link...

Clever Google, means they get MORE data to analyse as the will get analytics on the whole web

Indeed - if you have a Google logon active on your system, they’ll be able to pick up that and add it to your profile. The page will no doubt have been pre-skimmed for keywords at the time the URL was shortened, so it can just build on your profile.

Don’t for one minute try to convince me that Microsoft isn’t contemplating the same kind of thing with Bing.