Often there are problems with long Web addresses not working in E-mails, due to line breaks causing problems. At text, a free and reliable solution is available which allows long web addresses to be swapped for a shorter address which will then redirect to the location the original link pointed to. TinyURL also offers a plug-in for your browser’s toolbar, which makes it a simple case of clicking on your toolbar to generate a short URL. There are other alternative services, such as text, offer more tools, such as choosing a keyword for the end of the URL at the end.

The services will store the links permanently. However there are problems that can arise, most often when the address of the original Web page gets changed. Also, if a service disappears, as many Web services do, you are left with shortened links in limbo.

However TinyURL continues to be a success with millions of hits, and making money for its founder, Kevin Gilbertson, who developed it while a student at the University of Minnesota. So successful has the service been that he recently bought a competitor, text, who reportedly developed the idea originally. TinyURL was a greater success however, rather fittingly due to it’s shorter address.