Friday, February 26, 2010

tinyURL and bit.ly

ZOMG. I was going to save this post for tomorrow but something came up that made me really want to write this post today. So many posts today! I have no self control >_<

So, I had been using tinyURL for years, since at least 2006 apparently since I have tinyURL links on this page: http://www.horderockcafe.com/version_1/bwl.aspx?content=Links

I'd been using it until I started Twitter last month and noticed that everyone was using bit.ly. I thought "meh", I'll just use what I'm using now. Of course, my new resolve of "trying new things out" and "embracing change" made me look into bit.ly.
Note: New me is using/doing: Twitter, Blogging, had a Corona with dinner today, Jailbreaking iPhone, TwitPic, bit.ly + other things I'm sure I just can't remember atm).

Wow, I'm shocked at the data they keep for each bit.ly! I always didn't like that if you put the same link into tinyURL, you get 2 different tinyURLs. Obviously, they don't do a database check of the URL and just assign a new one. What a waste of space! bit.ly doesn't have this issue, the URL is checked in the database of URLs and if the URL has already been bit.ly'd, bit.ly just gives you the original bit.ly URL. When I looked at some of my recent bit.ly's

www.bit.ly/aBjCyq - Windows 7 Activation Post - bit.ly'd 1924 times
www.bit.ly/Hmuy1 - Heroes of Neworth Beta Account - bit.ly'd 917 times

The top one has been bit.ly'd almost 2000 times. That's 2000 saved URLs and rows in a database.
Note: tinyURL does the above now, I just checked. 4 years ago, they did not as I remember testing it out before and getting disappointing results

I was looking at the tinyURL combinations and thinking that they would/should probably remove the curse words so things like:
tinyurl.com/fuck
tinyurl.com/shit
don't work...much like they have to eliminate these types of words & acronyms on license plates.

Well, I actually gave tinyurl.com/fuck a shot and it redirects me to some random page, http://www.gfgfgf.com/

tinyurl.com/shit (and this is what made me LOL and HAVE to post this today), redirected me to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006GSNX
It's an Amazon page for Ratchet and Clank for the PS2. I LOL'd.

And then I wrote this post. and now I'm ridonculously tired. I will proofread this tomorrow....

1 comment:

  1. lolololol i just tried tinyurl/sh!t and it takes you to a microsoft page...i am easily amused.

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