DIY: Tiny URL

Some email programs like Microsoft Outlook can't display really long addresses (URLs) without breaking them in half – making them un-clickable. :-(

But you can avoid this from happening to you by taking any long URL – for example, http://maps.google.com/maps?q=955%20S%20Vermont%20Ave%2C%20Los%20Angeles... – and swapping it for a tiny one with a web site like TinyURL.com.

Just paste the long address into the input field, hit submit and out comes the shorter version.

How do they do it? They write down the long one and give it a randomly generated code – like a nickname, but random. When someone uses the nickname, it gets converted back into the long one.