TweaK those URLs

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 30 April 2009 05:37

Business IT - Technology

URL shortening is widely used, for example in printed publications and on Twitter. TweaK claims to generate the shortest possible URLs.

The TweaK URL shortening service is operated by Dot TK, the .tk (Tokelau) domain registry.

Where most shortening services tack a code representing the full URL onto the end of their own domain name, a TweaK URL is a second-level domain and can be as short as five characters.

For example, the TinyURL for this article is tinyurl.com/c38prs, but the TweaK is 5wgpt.tk.

"At Dot TK we identify the link directly by the domain name, making each link at least six characters shorter than any other URL shortening service," said Dot TK CEO Joost Zuurbier. "We believe that in applications like Twitter each and every character is important. You simply have more room for your actual message.

Users suspicious of shortened URLs can add /- to the end of a TweaK URL to reveal the true address, for example 5wgpt.tk/-.

Dot TK officials explained that TweaK uses true 301 redirection so search engines follow links to the actual content.

A TweaK API has been provided so that software can shorten or lengthen addresses. There is a limit of 250 shortenings per IP address per day, though that can be relaxed or removed on application.

Like other URL shortening services, TweaK is free.