Google, Facebook Unveil URL Shorteners
EQUTE — Google and Facebook have jumped into the URL shortener ring in a move that could crush other services like Bit.ly and Ow.ly.

The move could finally be an answer to all those Twitter links that you don’t want to go anywhere near. Seeing these shortened URLs will give readers an additional layer of security by knowing that their clicks aren’t going to some phishery or virus-laden site.
Google’s goo.gl has a very, very short page describing their new service.
Google URL Shortener at goo.gl is a service that takes long URLs and squeezes them into fewer characters to make a link that is easier to share, tweet, or email to friends. The core goals of this service are:
Stability — ensuring that the service has very good uptime Security — protecting users from malware and phishing pages Speed — fast resolution of short URLs Google URL Shortener is currently available for Google products and not for broader consumer use.
The Google toolbar now features a new share button that shortens the URLs, and Blogger now allows users to syndicate their feeds to Twitter using the shortened URLs.
Facebook’s shortener seems more designed to bring outside users to Facebook, or the new FB.me. It also features a neat trick to direct readers to the site with an easy to understand link. Say the Facebook name for your blog’s fan site is StarTrekPlanet, it can be truncated to FB.me/startrekplanet, making it easy for people to see where they are going.
These URL services also leave the window open for things similar to Digg’s approach where each site found through the shortener features a toolbar header. If Google and Facebook did the same it could mean greater reach for their sharing services.
This is a great stride in the field, it will certainly be interesting to see how third-party services weather the storm.














