Tiny URL Redux
Well, it's not my redux, it's C�dric's... While I was checking out his Japanese typing response I continued down and noticed this post about a site called TinyUrl.com.
... Who else uses this service? Well, it's easy to get a feel for it. Take an existing tiny URL like the one I just generated (http://tinyurl.com/1rq5) and modify it slightly, say http://tinyurl.com/1rq6. This one takes me to a yahoogroups message. I started generalizing the process and next thing I know, I had spent a half hour typing in random links and getting a glimpse on what people send to each other.
There are two fascinating things about this:
- While all these random Web sites are obviously public, it is not exactly obvious to people who registered these tiny URL's that some weirdo other than the intended recipient would see them (much less brag about in a weblog). But is it really spying?
- Another interesting thing about these links is that they are not your regular links. They are links that 1) people found interesting enough to forward to others and 2) they wanted the recipient to see this link so bad that they went through the trouble to "tinylink" them.
Very, very amusing. I love blogging. Voyeurism on steroids.
-Russ