Difference between bit.ly and TinyURL
Where social networking is slowly taking over our lives. Sites like Tagged, Orkut, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter being are amongst the most famously talked about networks around. Twitter is one of the most popular services today and sharing links on it has become a definite trend. Shortened web addresses are needed for sites like these and software such as TinyUrl and BitLy have emerged to fill the need. This set up made sure that one’s web address was shortened to 140 characters and is easily updated on Twitter. Other similar sites also popular but Twitter is the most popular site in this category so it’s easier to relate to as we take a closer look.
Their Existence
TinyUrl has been in the web space for quite a while now and is a service that completes the task of shortening the URL considerably. Since it was the first type of site that emerged with this idea there was a lot of exposure and new customers. However, today BitLy stands as tough competition and even though it was introduced fairly recently, investors are more inclined to trust them. Even Twitter has been using this service as its default URL shortener. BitLy is leading in this competition and keeps getting better which goes to show that they not only have faithful followers, but they have crept into the minds of the masses to come up with solutions to satisfy many. The answer has been simple and clear: Simplicity is the best there is.
Links Shared
Research tells us that in 2010, where 46% of the shortened links are spread through platforms such as Twitter are via the service of BitLy. Whereas TinyUrl, which was believed to be the most popular service, lacks 44% in this game. Recently, BitLy took the lead with 75% of the traffic and effectively taking over the world with ease. This shows that most traffic was directed straight to BitLy, giving them the popularity TinyUrl once enjoyed. The names are shortened in a way that it is also easier to post via your cell phones because the shortened length of the URL name.
The Obvious Trail
It was calculated that TinyUrl had almost 6 million visitors whereas BitLy had around 3 million and in a matter of 3 months, 5.4% growth was seen on TinyUrl’s behalf and 93% increase in the traffic for BitLy. BitLy has now been announced as the leader of this service and continues to draw new customers and satisfying older ones. By introducing new things like Real Time Dashboard and White Glove service into their product suite, they’re stepping up their game and keeping all concerned satisfied with their innovations.
Summary
Even thought TinyUrl was the first of its kind to come in the market, today Bitly takes the lead because:
- Bitly presents it self to the public as something much more than just a URL shortening service and therefore, pleases the customers
- It makes communicating and sharing information a lot easier as the method is easy too
