Google Dec. 14 launched URL shortening service Goo.gl tfor Google Toolbar and Feedburner. Bit.ly bit back hours later by offering a professional service. It's a URL brevity battle royale. Eventually, Google could offer Goog.gl more broadly, which could be a scary proposition for Bit.ly and others in the space and points to an ongoing trend of Google trying to mimic other Web services to keep traffic flowing to its search engine and other Web services.

Saw this yesterday. Facebook is testing the http://fb.me URL as a URL Shortner also.

Google wants a piece of everything Good for them!

Certainly, Google isn't sitting on it's hands, as it continues to ramp up more offerings.

But that's only for internal services and products only, not for anything you want!

Which is for internal links? I'm sure it's only a matter of time before it becomes widely used on EVERYTHING - everyone wants a piece of the pie these days.

seriously what don't they own....They really want to have everything...reminds of a company called Microsoft who invited and practiced that same religion all the time..

Yeah, Google kind of scares me. I worry about what tends to happen when one company gets control of the market. Things usually stay more fair when lots of smaller guys compete.

It seems that Google URL Shortener is currently available for Google products and not for broader consumer use

Most scary of latest google creations is googleDNS http://code.google.com/intl/pl/speed/public-dns/

Google might be targeting twitter to replace tinyurl within tweets.

Hmm, but they have replaced tinyurl with bit.ly though:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/06...url-for-bitly/


...and I don't even know .gl domain exists.

I just continue wondering where the real value in running a service like TinyURL or Bit.ly, or Google one is... I never get what the long-term point of this is.
OK, you are redirecting 50,000,000 URLs. Then what?

Mind control, obviously!

That tactic won't work here, as I lost mine years ago.

Thanks for the update, .gl is the country-specific Internet Domain (ccTLD) from Greenland and currently .com.gl/.co.gl are available for registration.