A Few Innovative Ideas for Short URL’s
Over the past 6 months or so I’ve seen numerous posts raise flags with the idea of URL Shorteners. Each of these focus on several issues, security issues, non-relative link titles, no pass through for SEO purposes, and the possibility of data loss. Each of the problems, have at least partial solutions, but these solutions are still not effective enough. Here are some of the modifications that I plan on working to enhance the service.
Pretty URL’s – Security & Relative Titles
Making the short URL as human-readable as possible is a plus, however, with the shorteners on the market, they are quite hard to get because every user’s URL is an ID that can only be linked to only once by the service. My solution to this is to embed user data within the link, this abstraction reduces actual URL location to 1-3 characters(b62 range, 62 – 238,328), and you can store the User data in between 4-6 characters(b62, 14,776,336 – 56,800,235,584) at the end. This means the minimal length required for a link is 5 and the maximum is 9. The benefits of applying the User encoding is that it provides the ability to parse the users links, along with any meta-data associated with the link, such as a secondary access to the url, via a user specific vanity title, e.g. http://examp.le/URLxUser = http://examp.le/SteveJ/apple and http://examp.le/XbUser = http://examp.le/LarryP/apple. The User encoding also allows the linking system, to be used as a quick account review if there is any suspicion of malware or spyware being sent by a specific source. One requirement of using the User encoding, is that you define the length that the User data takes up and where it is located. I feel that 5 characters(~1 Billion unique id’s) is optimal at this point in time, and that placing this in the very end of the string is slightly simpler to parse, but that’s just user preference. However, at no point can you change either of these choices without destroying the entire system of links that have been spread over the internet, so you must choose wisely before you begin.
Multiple-Links – More Data, Less Space
Allowing users to batch related content, reduces the total length per link to 22/n to 24/n, where n equals # of links. Applying link specification to the API will extend the length, but also make large batches more usable for sharing data, (e.g. http://examp.le/XbUser?link=1,3). Next topic of discussion for this is how to handle statistics, because regular statistics become a bit blurred by having the ability to access multiple links at the same time. The most accurate collection is only the inbound links to the page, outbound is much more complicated, as it is multiple-permutations on exit paths. The best that you can do is calculate clicks for links, and measure selection for the Open All button by counting all active links. One benefit to the multiple link structure is that it encourages users to become link curators, this provides plenty of data for machine learning, as well as providing associations that aren’t easily discernible to machines, such as what the user likes. It also makes the system an active aggregation center for real-time data. An example of a multi-link(Safari 4 has issues and will open windows instead of tabs) http://lnkr.hiphs.com/socialme
Data Storage – Open Access, Uptime, and Redundant Stores
After, stories such as Ma.gnol.ia’s data loss, Cli.gs hacking, and various services shutting their doors, link rot becomes a very big concern. So I’ve looked into various solutions and one that sticks out is based on work by Directeur for use in federated real-time systems, Socnodes, and the Oruboros & Lamaean Hydra problems that he had to solve. His solution to the Oruboros was using Atom Feeds UID’s with service title to allow the systems to check against themselves. The usefulness of the Socnode layout is you can store and update remote databases with your data, creating a remote redundant store, but also n-ary accessible domains. Assuming you use separate data storage sites, DNS’s, and build otherwise independent systems that operate with the same data in parallel.
There will be a point that URL’s aren’t going to be nearly as important and I see this as a step to reaching it. These steps toward ease of access, safely securing the data, through redundancy, encoding and embedded data, and review systems, and the ability to collect related and relevant data are steps in the right direction.
The Social Web: Defining Real-World Social Factors
I noticed this a while back, while watching FFundercats, as they discussed the possible loss of the service, with founder Paul Buchheit. They also discussed why Friendfeed captured the audience it did and why most of the users hate/dislike Facebook. It’s the content and community that exists on each, and what value you receive from them. I ended up breaking the real-life social experience into 3 fields, to try and explain this.
Introduction
Commonality
A shared interest in similar items, friends, or favorite places to hang out or eat. It should be easily distinguishable to find a similarity to begin with as your mutual friend introduces you or you end up at the same location at the same time. You may both go to a place to enjoy a hobby you both share, and make a connection from that.
Mutual Experience
You have both being through an incident or event in which you share similar experiences, this could fall under commonality, but it is something that isn’t common enough that you would normally share with a stranger. It could be your profession, a disease that has affected your life, or going to an exclusive event. It is a personal connection that randomly comes out and creates an initial connection.
Notable Interaction
This is the kind that is often used in movies, but occurs quite often in life also, the cliche in films is when someone drops there books and gets assistance from someone. It’s just an accident that creates an opening for introductions. In real life this could be any unplanned event where people share some information about each other, whether it be a car accident, being stuck in an airport due to a delay, or any accident that causes people to offer assistance.
Acquaintance
Re-occurrence
The event that any of the aspects of the Introductory Field reoccurs often enough that you begin to know each other on a more personal level, than you would on a one-off meeting.
Mutual Shared Personal Knowledge
The information that most people don’t want you to have if they don’t know you very well, their birthday, their relationship status, where they’re from. It’s the most basic of info that provides accessibility to each other and also a little detail about one’s current state of affairs.
Caring
The use of Personal Knowledge to express yourself to the person. You can wish them a happy birthday, with out it being to awkward, or provide condolences when they lose something/someone very dear to them. It is the ability to express without being perceived as fake that you are willing to be there for the person in the moments they need support.
Friendship
Deep Interaction
The point in which you can discuss things that matter to you, that you might not share with people you don’t know very well. Discussions which involve personal knowledge to be gathered that isn’t public information. It is the ability to trust the other person with more personal information.
Experience
The effect of Deep Interaction is that you are begin to know more about the person. You have inside jokes, can pass on interests, and know how to change their mood for the positive or negative. The insight that comes with being a friend allows you to interact more fluidly with the other person.
Ease of Access
The ability to start a conversation with a person relatively simply, you make time for each other to have a discussion. It can also be, likely is, the provision of multiple channels to reach the person for such discussions. Having such ubiquity helps further and accelerate, the relationship.
Catalysts
Real-Time Discussion
By now we should all understand what this means, but I will clear the meaning up for those that don’t know. Real-time discussions are fluid interactions that happen rapidly enough, within a short period of time, that they can be seen as a seamless conversation.
Randomness
The spark that can ignite a friendship. It is the driving force of introductions and fosters connections. You see someone grasping something that you like as well, you have an accident, you trip. It is the key to mutual experiences, and notable interactions. It also keeps everything interesting, you may come across something new, at any time.
Currently, I haven’t found an online service that offers all of these qualities, but the top few have hit some sweet spots that make it much easier to manage socialization on all levels. Below I posted a chart of what factors Friendfeed, Facebook, and Twitter have become useful for. And I’m not saying that they don’t have ways to do all of this, it’s just not simple, if it’s not simple to manage the social factors, it’s useless.
How To Overcome Crushing Blows
The past few months have been like a riptide for me, every time I pop back above the surface I’m further out, and getting pushed right back under. I’ve lost friends, I’ve somehow managed to walk away from death, and I’ve lost my job. The thing is in life those things matter, but they happened in the past, they will effect how I act in the future, but I shouldn’t have to wait for these to occur to figure out I needed to change.
Look For More Soon
This is a little update that contains some information about what has happened to the blog over the past few months and what will be happening over at least the next few months.Yes, the blog has become stagnant and has had only 2 posts in 3 months, and I understand the concerns this raises. I had a close relative die at the beginning of May and spiraled into a comfortably numb state that I didn’t feel like nor was able to come out of it for a few weeks. As I worked my way out of this depression I began interacting and having meaningful conversations over on Friendfeed and began a lot of my time there. By Mid-July, I was nearly back to normal(as close as can be expected) and had begin writing a few posts again and had planned to start posting again at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, I lost a friend on the 26th and fell back into the depression and haven’t really felt like finishing a lot of the drafts I have sitting around.
I’ll begin posting regularly on Monday, August 17th and as of right now I’m going to be posting every Monday. Currently, I have enough to last a little over 2 months, but I will be adding more time sensitive material along the course. I also plan an update to the site, which will come with a more frequent feed of interesting stories, images, and videos separate from the main feed. For right now, I just want to let you know that I will be back posting on a regular basis, along with some irregularly scheduled content.
*Recommend some content for me to write about in the comments or through my contact page. I’ll look into whatever topics you want me to discuss and this will make it a little easier for me to get back up to speed with content.