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A new, free, URL shortening service is now available at http://fwd4.me

As you may be aware, a ‘URL shortening service’ is exactly that, a service which provides short aliases which redirect to long, hard to remember, unmanageable URLs.

URL shortening services have been around for many years now. They started to spring up around the same time that people started having problems using long URLs in message forum posts and in emails. Quite often, pasting a long URL in to an email will result in a broken link for the receipient as the email program the receipient uses will try to wrap the long URL on their screen to display it properly, so a URL of “http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Cars-Trucks_?Make=Buick&Model=Lucerne&Fuel%2520Type=!&_dmpt=US_Cars_Trucks&_fln=1&_sacat=6001&_sop=&_ssov=1&_trksid=p4506.c0.m282″ might appear in the recipients InBox like this:

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Ca

rs-Trucks_?Make=Buick&Model=Lucerne&F
uel%2520Type=!&_dmpt=US_Cars_Truc
ks&_fln=1&_sacat=6001&_sop=&_ssov=1&_t
rksid=p4506.c0.m282

(and more than likely, will no longer work)

With the ever-growing popularity of web sites like Twitter where character space is at premium, a short URL is an absolute must. Web sites such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and eBay are notorious for creating long and awkward URLs so luckily the service at http://fwd4.me is very easy to use. Simply paste your long URL in to the box on their site, click ‘Shorten Your URL’ and you’ll instantly be given a URL which is as short as possible.

Our example URL of “http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Cars-Trucks_?Make=Buick&Model=Lucerne&Fuel%2520Type=!&_dmpt=US_Cars_Trucks&_fln=1&_sacat=6001&_sop=&_ssov=1&_trksid=p4506.c0.m282″ was 163 characters long but by using a URL shortening service, we were able to shorten it to http://fwd4.me/tu which is just 17 characters, a total reduction of 146 characters in length.

The http://fwd4.me service also offers an “advanced mode” which opens up extra options for your short URLs. The main advanced feature is the ability to create “customised” short URLs. An would be something like the free web space your ISP provides, usually with a terrible URL so http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/index.html can be turned into a short, nicer looking, easy to remember URL of http://fwd4.me/robin

Other advanced features include the additon of a password to protect your short URL. If you only want certain people to use your short URL then simply add a password to the short URLs you create. You can also add notes and comments (public and private) to your short URLs.

An Application Programming Interface, or API as they are more commonly refered to, allows you to incorporate the services provided by http://fwd4.me in to your own web site or application. Again, the API service is provided to everyone completely free of charge.

Another feature available is the ability to preview a short URL. If you place a ? on the end of any short URL, you will see a preview of the URL. This allows you to see the long URL you would be forwarded to, along with a preview thumbnail of the web site in question and some statistics on the short URL such as how many clicks the short URL has recived, when it was created and more. You can preview our example URL at http://fwd4.me/tu?

Short in itself for “Forward For Me”, the http://fwd4.me web site is still relatively new and aims to offer as many features as possible, with a lightening fast and easy to use web site. The developers of the service have a blog online at http://fwd4.info where they’ll keep you posted as to what they’re currently working on, plus you can contact them with ‘feature suggestions’ which they will consider for inclusion in future versions of their service.

Some of the older, more popular, URL shortening services are not actually providing URLs which are that short any more but as the service provided by http://fwd4.me is still relatively new, the short URLs are actually still quite short.

The http://fwd4.me service has already been adopted by some large organisations such as Hull City Council and Keep Britain Tidy.

The last few days have been very uncomfortable for the UK government with the publication of damning e-mails which contained unfounded and untrue allegations about a number of Conservative MPs. It has been alleged that a number of parties within number 10 Downing Street were looking to circulate these scurrilous rumours in the hope of destabilising the Conservative Party in the run up to the next general election. This has now prompted the question, is the world of Internet blogging out of control?

There is no doubt that while there are significant benefits to the Internet there are some downsides which have to be controlled. The circulation of untrue information, potentially libellous rumours and other such tittle-tattle can and has caused significant problems around the world. The very fact it can be difficult to trace the exact source of any information repeated on the Internet has attracted the “shadow operators” seen in the political world and other areas of society. While there have been serious repercussions for the UK government in this particular instance, there are fears that the world of Internet blogging is out of control.

However, while there are a number of websites which will pedal incorrect and potentially libellous stories and rumours the vast majority of Internet bloggers “play it by the book”. Whether we see the introduction of tighter regulatory controls in the longer term remains to be seen but there is no doubt that it can be difficult to locate the true source of some information released and repeated in the blogshpere.

The EU authorities have today stepped into the argument regarding Internet privacy in the UK, something which has been highlighted by targeted advertising company Phorm and Google Street View. The commission has now challenged the UK authorities to demonstrate that UK privacy laws run in tandem with the EU privacy laws and there are no legal implications.

The argument has been ongoing for some time after BT, Virgin and TalkTalk signed up to the controversial target advertising system Phorm, which monitors Internet usage and targets specific adverts at specific users. This is something we have covered in detail on the website, but the introduction of the EU authorities into the mix will be worrying for those involved with Phorm. There have been a number of complaints from Internet users in the UK who believe there are privacy invasion issues and are seeking a definitive ruling on the subject.

The UK authorities now have two months to convince the EU authorities that UK privacy laws are protecting Internet users, in line with EU privacy laws. If the UK authorities are unable to convince their EU counterparts that the system is wholly legal then we could see the UK authorities taken to the EU Court of Justice were the subjects would be discussed in great detail and a definitive ruling announced.