How to shorten those long web addresses using bit.ly

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">There are many url shortening online programmes around, and I could never quite understand the need for them until I started sharing and networking! For example when using Twitter a long web address will use nearly all your 140 characters! The application I have tended to use is Bit.ly.com, so I thought I would do a quick share on how it all works. Below is a screenshot of the Bit.ly interface.   </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpY6MwHdtphrLVgsdpnZJjUSNccBEPB402ySPycZbiiUB8nxJoVIlPTNMhJ95GaUVNfJ6Qv3bR6yPBEj8mYHNmqUrM6RaKMzKCEW1kTJTyEmDlC1i2Lyda0nx2cjKjjZ_-qVopZF6461U/s1600-h/image%25255B9%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWskXbOSuVS5CGCs-BeRkT-tyhhR1nN6_9FEFrwBDTDDWVCFam9EdCGY7qpVGR2KuSkXRpQ34lZfzXq2xDtxG88QaUQuFFco9VhjZ3jewVtj5_jQICV2lRHlgiOYbbc6wj9BOCnB8QqUk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whenever I start communicating with my PLN using Twitter, the first thing I do is open <a href="https://bitly.com/">Bit.ly</a>  So let me explain how it all works. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Open <a href="https://bitly.com/">https://bitly.com/</a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> and join as a member. </span><span style="font-size: small;">You don’t have to join, but if you do you’ll find a record of everything you have shortened! </span><span style="font-size: small;">When Bit.ly starts you’ll get this empty blue box at the top. That s where you will paste your web addresses. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRrE0uiz_pe6zBdb-HCvefvRCklimRYrfLpbJ15a5tq2Z04vsnTbwd6vRgn7cku7R57pI1ifkuQKijQe56pD878ZRC77tLLCIRwHBBBZX9XrW1nuXLx0vyngwLvmFut7SuJuu6OkAOJ8/s1600-h/clip_image002%25255B4%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9JaHEIjlwJN-r0OkAsybhueWQytlO6Z4456ANE8jQvl5g-s3Sl8gcptkhtFlpVHuw5-cvleNv2raq9d7RhzXKmvrSVZkGmu3idWW11nOOeTGXkftIjRUiFDwu5IzJ8t3d2LhRigMq0M/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image002" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. Copy the web address you wish to shorten and paste the long address into the blue piece. It will immediately shorten it to a new short address. From this...</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIWfegk8aIb8YuyY3VVr65eewY0km9Q62n6BodCZCWkJdApaNSmlU5e1yKa8Szzlx1WywUJnrT4OZLU-ituOGLlT2yZbHxOrOkr2OjKxoUGzNAxKQraut06wlTKMhNzeFjIcHhnL-FF4c/s1600-h/clip_image004%25255B4%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHZUDlWTRR-NY69Lnu5SnA_EGdMjJcAlwcl17jdgNYwFLaxuaFUVnqoZ3mKXZYMih4RdlfKd43loh20fWFLsVWvCDOldFrDtfgPMp1OyOlWEpP3xeaE_WVK_V6JJPLUu4jnYqNsSRvhI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image004" width="400" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg36LQgdD7nKBt1JpqAkBTV3TfEMzY4XjPRi4L0qrqk-xhgixha6-9zwUCSw5pBbKsJvjNAvLKnJoHL9dXAlwmhKbsudxlqauvCCj18u0P5ofv-keO8yviFlG60pYiFEvx3o1AbKywhY_I/s1600-h/clip_image004%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> <br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. ...to this! The new shortened address happens almost immediately! All you do now is copy it and use it!</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV6CSPmVmkj5o8TBNr2AGx8SZCvnwEiCp_LbBwDjmqTsTn7Gm0CPkg1wGatFvAIFRvcIFwkkDq6Pv9-O6ZAAYD1QAiKorI5BtII7-rJvsNdotGVAbWYXgplNaOMoH-SpLEDeQgtDVpEg/s1600-h/clip_image006%25255B4%25255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clip_image006" border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaaXlZArQcc9vsr5phjwIVKDLKpgkIWRpQrCi74lwEnBdYKsDDeSWqFtzLW6LHwvPWDCkWf6b3mJ5rWOCNq8qskFaN6Y9dSo6VlDqopws8d1fCHbnC_OM2DTla3iRtDqSkHjn2Cm1H1QQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image006" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, to summarise. Join Bit.ly and it will keep a record of your shortened addresses for you. The shortened address is easier for people to click on and it works especially well with Twitter and Facebook where you have a restricted number of characters.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Why not give it a go!</span> </div></div>

Tutorials Twitter Web tools How to shorten those long web addresses using bit.ly

There are many url shortening online programmes around, and I could never quite understand the need for them until I started sharing and net...

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