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Create short URLs quickly using Gnolia bookmarklet
When I bookmark an item in Gnolia, a short URL using gnl.cc is automatically generated.
This short URL should be generated while I'm bookmarking, and be shown as I'm tagging the bookmark.
Ideally, there would be a simple bookmarklet or Firefox plugin that let me "Shorten with gnl.cc and copy to clipboard" with one click. The bookmark could then be auto-tagged with "shortened", "shared" or similar.
Now, why would I want this, when I can use Bit.ly? Because I want to be able to find links I've shared later on.
Also, I'd like to use fewer services. Today, I'm using Gnolia/Delicious, Read It Later and Bit.ly. This should be possible using the API, and hopefully I'll be able to construct this myself.
If you've got this planned, it would be great to hear about it.
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Here's a bit of background information at my blog:
• http://www.movito.net/temporary-bookm...
• http://www.movito.net/in-search-of-a-...
• http://www.movito.net/parsing-tweeted...
This short URL should be generated while I'm bookmarking, and be shown as I'm tagging the bookmark.
Ideally, there would be a simple bookmarklet or Firefox plugin that let me "Shorten with gnl.cc and copy to clipboard" with one click. The bookmark could then be auto-tagged with "shortened", "shared" or similar.
Now, why would I want this, when I can use Bit.ly? Because I want to be able to find links I've shared later on.
Also, I'd like to use fewer services. Today, I'm using Gnolia/Delicious, Read It Later and Bit.ly. This should be possible using the API, and hopefully I'll be able to construct this myself.
If you've got this planned, it would be great to hear about it.
- - - -
Here's a bit of background information at my blog:
• http://www.movito.net/temporary-bookm...
• http://www.movito.net/in-search-of-a-...
• http://www.movito.net/parsing-tweeted...
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The company has this in progress.
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Inappropriate?Hi Fredrik. Great idea, and definitely something I've been planning. The reason it doesn't do this now is that the short link is created when you save the bookmark so that each bookmark gets it's own short url. This means that in the future you'll be able to track how many people follow it through your link.
How would showing you the short link after the bookmark is saved with some sharing options, like posting to Twitter, work for you? -
Inappropriate?Hi and thanks for getting back to me so quickly, Larry.
The workflow I'm suggesting might be something that I alone use, but here's my take.
I shorten URLs all the time to prevent them from breaking in e-mails, to get some idea of clickthrough rates and to fit them into tweets.
When I'm doing this, I focus on getting the URL shortened. I'm not that concerned about the bookmark itself.
However, if a link is worth sharing, I'll likely want to look it up again (for reference, or to share it in another context), and so it is worth bookmarking.
Bit.ly does a really great job of shortening URLs quickly. The thing is, when my list of shortened URLs grows too long, it collapses and I can no longer find things. The result is that I shorten a URL again.
Another superb advantage that Bit.ly (and some others, to be fair) offer, is the custom short URL, so that you can create memorable and relatively short links to share verbally or in print.
In all of these scenarios, I'm interested in the short URL first and the bookmark second.
The quickest fix you could make would be to have a "copy short link" text in my bookmarks overview (or just show the short URL there). At present, I have to go to the detail view to see this, and that takes too much time.
The second fix would be to show the short URL in the popup Gnolia window as I'm creating the bookmark. I realize that it's simpler to implement a workflow where I post the information, the window stays visible and the new short URL is shown (ajaxy and all that) immediately afterwards. Still, I'd love to make this go even faster.
So, for my personal workflow at least, the best thing would be a bookmarklet or contextual menu item in Firefox that lets me select a link and "Shorten with Gnolia". Of course, this link is also posted as a bookmark tagged as "Shared" or similar.
As for sharing options, Delicious and many others allow me to push a bookmark or link to Twitter etc. Personally, I prefer to use my local client to tweet, and I'm not always posting short URLs to Twitter – as said they end up in all sorts of places.
Therefore, I just need the short URL to be shown quickly and easily, and preferably auto-copied to my pasteboard.
Thanks for listening!
I’m thankful
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This is one of the best points
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Hmmm, looks like I added lots of feature requests in this one single thread. Sorry about that! Showing the short URL as soon as the bookmark has been posted is a great start. -
Inappropriate?All of your input is greatly appreciated; it will help to know the whole workflow as I design the extended short link features. I'll update this thread as they're rolled out.
I’m happy to get lots of ideas.
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