<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b
style="">OPLIN 4Cast #156: URL shorteners</b><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">December 11, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span class="grame"><i><span
style="font-size: 12pt;">4casting technologies that could have an
impact on
public libraries.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></h1>
<p>Every character counts these days, so a little help from a link
shortening
service is a must. But are there other benefits to using a link
shortener?</p>
<p>-- Add your link anywhere - even in tiny spaces. In a pocket, on a
business
card, even a napkin!</p>
<p>-- Because shortened links are really redirects, the link will never
expire.</p>
<p>-- If the link is easy to remember, it will be easy to use.</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><a
href="http://www.friedbeef.com/top-5-url-shorteners-and-how-they-help-you/"
target="_blank">Top 5 URL Shorteners and How They Help You</a></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><a
href="http://searchengineland.com/analysis-which-url-shortening-service-should-you-use-17204"
target="_blank">URL Shorteners: Which Shortening Service Should You
Use?</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Archiving these short URLs is another matter. How long do they
last? Who is responsible for their upkeep?</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><a
href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/readwritestart/2009/12/where-do-short-urls-die.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29&utm_content=Google+Reader"
target="_blank">Where do Short URLs Go When They Die?</a></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><a
href="http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Archiving-Web-Shortcuts-Internet-Archive-Launches-WorksOrg-60049.asp"
target="_blank">Archiving Web Shortcuts: Internet Archive Launches
301Works.Org</a></li>
</ul>
<p><b><i>Cool fact from the 4Cast:</i></b><br>
>From Search Engine Land Blog: "A URL shortening service does a '301
redirect' to the full URL. That number stands for the code a web server
issues
to a browser (or search engine) when a URL is requested.</p>
<p>A 301 redirect says that the URL requested (the short URL) has
'permanently'
moved to the long address. Since it’s a permanent redirect, search
engines
finding links to the short URLs will credit all those links to the long
URL."<span class="grame"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div align="center">
<table class="MsoNormalTable"
style="background: whitesmoke none repeat scroll 0% 0%; width: 90%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;"
width="90%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5">
<tbody>
<tr style="">
<td style="padding: 3.75pt;">
<p>The <em><b>OPLIN 4cast</b></em> is a weekly compilation of
recent headlines, topics, and trends that could impact public
libraries. You can subscribe to it in a variety of ways, such as:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><strong>RSS feed</strong>. You
can receive the <em>OPLIN 4cast</em> via RSS feed by subscribing to
the following URL: <a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2" target="_blank">http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?feed=rss2</a>.</li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><strong>Live Bookmark</strong>.
If you're using the <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/" target="_blank">Firefox</a>
web browser, you can go to the <em>4cast</em> website (<a
href="http://www.oplin.org/4cast/" target="_blank">http://www.oplin.org/4cast/</a>)
and
click on the orange "radio wave" icon on the right side of the
address bar. In <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/"
target="_blank">Internet Explorer 7</a>, click on the same icon to
view or subscribe to the <em>4cast</em> RSS feed. </li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style=""><strong>E-mail</strong>. You can
have the <em>OPLIN 4cast</em> delivered via e-mail (a'la OPLINlist and
OPLINtech) by subscribing to the <em>4cast</em> mailing list at <a
href="http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast"
target="_blank">http://mail.oplin.org/mailman/listinfo/OPLIN4cast</a>.</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>-- <br>
Bobbi Galvin<br>
OPLIN Customer Relations & Support<br>
P: 1-888-966-7546<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.oplin.org"><br>
www.oplin.org</a></p>
</body>
</html>