TinyURL is a web service created by Kevin Gilbertson that provides short aliases to redirect long URLs. Basically, TinyURL turns a long URL into a much shorter one.

For example, I took my URL and made a TinyURL:

http://www.macdonaldconsultingservices.com/ has a length of 42 characters and resulted in the following TinyURL which has a length of 25 characters: http://tinyurl.com/dn373h

Or, I can give my recipients confidence with a preview TinyURL: http://preview.tinyurl.com/dn373h

The preview feature allows recipients to preview the link at the TinyURL site so that they can see that the link directs to my web site and not a phishing site or a site with potential viruses.

How can you use TinyURL?

• If you want to 'cloak' a URL and give some mystery to a link within a 'known' campaign.
• You want to shorten, drastically, a URL such as a MapQuest link within e-mails.
• You want to shorten a lengthy product link, video or podcast link so that it doesn't break within a critical e-newsletter.
• Within Twitter, to minimize the use of characters.

Basically, the use of TinyURL is endless. For more learning, click on the following YouTube video.

Best

Denice MacDonald