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back to article Google erects Colombian 'g.co' URL shortener for Google+

Google has followed in the footsteps of Twitter by buying a Colombian internet address to use as a corporate URL shortener. Mountain View announced yesterday that it now owns g.co, which will only link to its official Google products. Twitter owns t.co, so Google's latest domain purchase is clearly intended to be added to the …

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  1. sebacoustic
    IT Angle

    IT angle

    there's clearly too much of an IT angle in here: to the slightest bit of a marching powder reference!

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  2. Natalie Gritpants

    Twitter should talk to someone in Italy

    I'm sure the t.it domain is available.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Paris Hilton

      "I'm sure the t.it domain is available."

      I'm sure it isn't....

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  3. Cameron Colley

    I don't understand this.

    Why can't Twitter and the like adopt something like the [link][/link] tab used in BBCode and only include the words within the tag in the character count? That would also have the advantage that anyone hovering over the link would be able to see where it was pointing.

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    1. ratfox
      Reply Icon

      Too complicated for twats

      Next thing, you'll be saying they can use this HTML programming language thingy.

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      1. Mediocrates
        Reply Icon

        twat swatting

        I think a twat-free internet would be a good thing...

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    not forgetting

    If someone establishes the 'off' domain then I can think of a short URL for facebook

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  5. Xander

    Short & Gibberish or Long & Meaningful

    Forgive me, but "g.co/sJHrk" is much harder to remember than "theregister" "google" or "ifyoulikeitsomuchwhydontyougolivethere"...

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    1. Ben 42
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      My only regret...

      ...is that I have but one upvote to give this post. The URL shortener fad cannot die fast enough for my tastes.

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  6. Old Handle

    g

    I assume they'll be bidding on the above one ICANN opens up the TLDs.

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  7. Horridbloke
    Thumb Down

    More sloppy stupid dumbing down

    Should Twitter, Google and their customers (ie the advertisers, not you) really be that interested in people who are too stupid to type in a proper URL?

    I become really depressed at the weekend when I witnessed somebody I know to be a constant facebook user start IE and get to the facebook site by typing "facebook" into Google (it's her home page) and clicking on the first link. That was stupid enough but this URL shortening thing looks even worse - how is it actually going to make anything easier for anyone? What exactly is wrong with remembering and/or bookmarking some proper URLs anyway?

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    1. Cameron Colley
      Reply Icon

      Not sloppy or dumbing down.

      If you have 140 characters for a post on Twatter, and you use 100 or more of those to post a URL you won't get to say much. Also, if you're posting it on your blog it's going to word-wrap like a bugger on phones and the like, or even get broken up on some devices.

      As someone above pointed out, if you're just trying to get to a site or remember its URL then "theregister.co.uk" is a lot easier than g.co/ubv8457sh.

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  8. Disco-Legend-Zeke
    Pint

    I Registered...

    ...a reasonably short domain name, 0b1.us to use in my tweets, but http://0b1.us/a gets "shortened to http://t.co/WXdO4IZ

    go figure.

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  9. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Proper URL

    >really be that interested in people who are too stupid to type in a proper URL?

    I agree with you and I have blogged about it at http://mywebsite.com/256_character_random_string_generated_my_CMS/article.html

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  10. rvt
    FAIL

    easy solution for 140 twitter thing

    "If you have 140 characters for a post on Twatter, and you use 100 or more of those to post a URL you won't get to say much."

    That's a fault of twitter 140 characters is jusy way to small and twitter shouldn't couldn't these as characters bit wrap it into a <a ....>[title of page it links to]</a> and then all problems are solved

    1 1
  11. nederlander
    Paris Hilton

    the moronically gifted

    Isn't that exactly the type of person the advertisers are interested in?

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  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    t.it domain?

    Silvio Berlusconi owns that.

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