This weekend I released two new services, which you probably already heard of from either UE Chat or Twitter. Trippy is a URL shortener made specifically for Twitter and other social networks, but can be used for anything such as tracking clicks. iPic allows you to upload images as quick as possible, so you can easily share them with your friends.
Trippy, Another URL Shortener
First of all, does the world need another URL shortener? There’s of course which is the default shortener for Twitter, but depending on your Twitter app/client or needs, you’re probably using others. That’s where comes in to save the day. It’s aim is to be fast, all you have to do is go to the site, paste your link, and hit enter. After that your link is already highlighted, so it’s ready to be shared on Twitter, Facebook, and whatever else you may think of.
This is probably not a very elegant way of doing this, unless you’re one of those people who actually type “google.com” to search for stuff (personally, I use Firefox’s address or search bar). So for that there’s a bookmarklet. It’s one of those things that you drag up to your bookmarks so you can quickly go to any site, click on the bookmarklet, and have the short URL ready for you.
So far, Trippy is not all that but it does have one of the main features most people look for. Oh, and did I mention stats? Similar to bit.ly, you can place a “+” after the url to gain advanced statistics about your short URL. On Trippy, you are provided with number of clicks, traffic location, and traffic sources. Very cool indeed.
For the future, there will be a couple more things coming such as demos, and even a Firefox add-on (Chrome extension as well). Great part is, if there’s a feature or problem, you can let me know and I’ll fix it up for you.
iPic, The Solution To Image Uploads
As the same deal with Trippy, there are many image/photo uploading sites out there. Photobucket, TinyPic, Twitpic, you name it. Hold on though, all those sites require logins except TinyPic, which isn’t fast enough for me. Well here comes iPic, where all you have to do is locate your file and click upload.
iPic is not meant to be “feature rich.” However you can resize your image before you upload it, and get a smaller “thumb” version after you upload. After that, you have the options to share it, post it on a site or forum, or view the full sized source. The end result is an image that is now located on the web within a second or two, for you to share. It’s that simple.
I do however plan to implement Trippy into iPic in the future, as this will allow an even shorter link to share, and the tracking of your images. This will also create more exposure for Trippy, as it’s the site I plan to focus on more between the two.
Now You’re Going To Badger Me On Using These, Right?
I won’t lie because I probably will let people know about it, but truly there’s no need to annoy everyone about it. These sites are meant to be tools, and that’s how Trippy and iPic will gain popularity. Needing to share an image with someone in UE Chat? Well the link is right there, click it and upload your pic. Then come back and share it.
Well that’s my two cents for right now, busy week coming up so don’t expect much more this week.