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July 27, 2009

BK.LY Launches

We've just launched a new website this morning called bk.ly that is designed to serve two purposes: 1) As URL shorteners become a ubiquitous part of the Internet experience, it makes sense to have some kind of local identity to the shortened web addresses, especially in the case of Brooklyn where local pride runs thick; 2) Twitter also provides a powerful way to collect and rank local news. The way site works is pretty simple: If you tweet a link that's been shortened using the bk.ly URL shortener, it'll automatically show up in the site's Tweet stream; likewise, if you append any Tweet with the hashtag #bknews, it will also show up in the stream. The latter will hopefully be used widely for mobile Tweets like "three-car accident at Fulton and South Oxford #bknews". We've also got a Most Popular widget on the site to track which links have been Tweeted the most. (This will soon be available for any bloggers to embed on their own sites.) Within the next couple of weeks, you'll be able to log into the site with your Twitter username and Tweet directly from bk.ly while tracking the click-through performance of your links. It's very much an experiment so we look forward to specific suggestions to make it more useful and user-friendly.

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Comments

More free information generation for communications "providers." I guess this is the future.

Posted by: East New York at July 27, 2009 10:41 AM

I don't think I understood a single sentence in that entire post. I guess I'm getting old.

Posted by: bkre at July 27, 2009 10:42 AM

"The way site works is pretty simple: If you tweet a link that's been shortened using the bk.ly URL shortener, it'll automatically show up in the site's Tweet stream; likewise, if you append any Tweet with the hashtag #bknews, it will also show up in the stream."

uh, what?

Posted by: Return of Randolph at July 27, 2009 10:42 AM

HA!!!!!! and i thought i was crazy. seriously, maybe i really AM old (32) but i didnt understand a lick of that hahahha

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 27, 2009 10:45 AM

You guys beat me to it. I didn't understand a word of it either. It always takes me a while to wrap my head around foreign languages.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 27, 2009 10:45 AM

Luddites.

Posted by: East New York at July 27, 2009 10:46 AM

am I having an 'internet experience' right now? I'm feeling so spiritual.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 27, 2009 10:47 AM

ok I am in media and 34 and I have NO idea what MR B just wrote
um wha?????????????

Posted by: gemini10 at July 27, 2009 10:51 AM

Alright I don't feel so alone. What the hell is a url shortener and why would anyone need one? agghhhhhh - it's pretty amazing that at this point ANYONE under the age of 25 - no matter how ignorant or under-educated - understands computers, internet and social networking better than me.

Posted by: gkw at July 27, 2009 10:54 AM

I am really liking this. Well done brownstoner. Glad to see your twitter activity has really picked up.

Posted by: king of the burg at July 27, 2009 10:57 AM

hm, i'm in the same age bracket and i think i sort of get this...my question is, what about ppl who just tweet inaccurate information? for the sake of it showing up in the feed. with something like wikipedia, the group weeds out false information. how would it be monitored on a site like this?

Posted by: bodhi_brooklyn at July 27, 2009 10:57 AM

Tweet globally, link locally.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at July 27, 2009 10:57 AM

Well, if you haven't gotten on the Twitter bandwagon, it's not surprising that the entire post would sound like gibberish...You should have seen us trying to explain this to the 'rents this weekend!

Posted by: brownstoner at July 27, 2009 10:59 AM

bodhi,
we'll have an admin interface where we can remove and block spam...also hope to add a feature for flagging problems...

Posted by: brownstoner at July 27, 2009 11:00 AM

In other words, bodhi, there IS no way to ensure that information relayed in this manner is any more accurate than the gossip you hear on the street (in some cases it IS the gossip you hear on the street). Anything else would be journalism - that is, when properly practiced. But as I mentioned, this is the future.

Hell, it's the present!

Posted by: East New York at July 27, 2009 11:04 AM

OMG. WTF? SOL. Too old (35)

Posted by: bupe at July 27, 2009 11:11 AM

East NY - you are right, it is the present. I don't know if you caught it, but CNN was using tweets as "sources" on articles concerning the election in Iran.

There is something wrong and somewhat apocalyptic about this to me. Did you see the two articles in the times today, one about a trend of Japanese men being in love with and having relationships with anime characters (2-D love) and then the story about artificial intelligence becoming too smart? I know older generations usually shun technology but something about this stuff is not quite right...

Posted by: bodhi_brooklyn at July 27, 2009 11:15 AM

Science fiction is fast becoming science fact. Writers like Isaac Asimov and Philip Dick, and even Jules Verne, are all being seen as prophets now, not overly imagined, wacked out writers of low brow popular fiction. That is actually very cool, although scary, as the mis-uses of technology and information form the underlying plots of most of their writing.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at July 27, 2009 11:24 AM

"CNN was using tweets as "sources" on articles concerning the election in Iran."

Yes, but by simply citing those "sources" as "tweets," they have at least maintained journalistic standards by identifying sources. To me, the larger issue is that "twitterers" via their technology-enabled ubiquity, are "replacing" trained media personnel, slowly KILLING the traditional news delivery paradigm. There are good and bad things about this, but for the professional journalist, it's mostly bad.

"a trend of Japanese men being in love with and having relationships with anime characters (2-D love) and then the story about artificial intelligence becoming too smart?"

I think too many people are caught up in the technology. No question, it enables broader, faster forms of communication. But in the end it still involves the sharing of thoughts. In that's there's nothing new.

That said, people who fall in love with cartoons are...what's the word? Oh yeah - schizophrenic.

Posted by: East New York at July 27, 2009 11:28 AM

there's really no reason to use a url shortener. you can copy, paste, and click on a url thats 1000 characters just as well as one that's 20.

Posted by: eh at July 27, 2009 11:31 AM

"there's really no reason to use a url shortener. you can copy, paste, and click on a url thats 1000 characters just as well as one that's 20."

Not if you want to tweet, you can't.

Posted by: East New York at July 27, 2009 11:34 AM

i understand the potential of twitter (ie iran election) but on a day to day basis i just don't get it. can someone show me just one interesting or important tweet? usually it is just garbage.

Posted by: Return of Randolph at July 27, 2009 11:39 AM

East NY - CNN did not identify the tweets as such, it was discovered later. So I don't agree that it's maintaining journalist standards.

lol. schizophrenic! not exactly - these are fully functioning men in society, who have jobs, own homes, etc. Most ppl with schizophrenia are unable to have that same kind of stability without serious support.

How is being in love with an anime character enabling broader, faster forms of communication? It is encouraging ppl to be shut-ins, and not form real relationships with other human beings - living in fantasy.

Posted by: bodhi_brooklyn at July 27, 2009 11:40 AM

there is a store on 5th avenue, one of those rinky dink over priced children's boutiques, that bit off the Twitter logo bird and has it all over shirts and other clothing. it's illegally using twitter's copyrighted logo.

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 27, 2009 11:44 AM

"East NY - CNN did not identify the tweets as such, it was discovered later. So I don't agree that it's maintaining journalist standards."

Yes, you are correct. I recall now that's how the uproar started. You're right, CNN did not adhere to journalistic standards there, a blatant error.

"Most ppl with schizophrenia are unable to have that same kind of stability without serious support."

OK, not schizophrenia, but they clearly have some problems. Heroin addicts are often able to function "normally," but I think you'd agree their not making the best of lifestyle choices, regardless.

"How is being in love with an anime character enabling broader, faster forms of communication?"

I am not equating the two, you are. You're talking about anime and "artificial intelligence." I'm talking about Twitter and other Internet-based communication tools, which enable faster and broader distribution of information. Two completely, different things, bodhi.

"it's illegally using twitter's copyrighted logo."

You should tweet about this, Rob!

Posted by: East New York at July 27, 2009 12:01 PM

I love technology but definitely not twitter- and don't get me started on facebook, etc. I understand the benefits and all, but it is so not how I want to live. And i have to agree with ENY- twitter is bad for journalism. I think its horrible for communication in general, actually.

Randi- I agree with that too :-)

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 12:04 PM

Maybe the idea is people using technology to maintain the idea of relationships, but really not having them. Its much easier to have an online relationship than one in real life. What does that say about us as a society or a species? When we're called "wetware"?

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 12:08 PM

amen, bxgrl at 12:08 pm

Posted by: bodhi_brooklyn at July 27, 2009 12:13 PM

@eny i guess but most of twitter is just noise. is it really worth it to go through all the trouble to post some url? using url shortners in order to make twitter posts is a rube goldberg use of technology that will look silly in a year.

Posted by: eh at July 27, 2009 12:18 PM

well King of the Burg is happy about it and almost eveyone else thinks its tosh. I assume that MrB must be happy he's reaching his target demographic - Williamsburg brokers

Posted by: dittoburg at July 27, 2009 12:19 PM

I'm not a big tweeter (?), but I do understand the benefits and the appeal. I've always enjoyed reading people's tweets about the flea - it's like an experiential and verbal snapshot that approximates art precisely because of the imposed brevity. I agree that it's scary when misinformation is spread that way, but so far it seems to correct itself because of the sheer numbers of people filtering any given tweet. I like this added local layer too because it brings it closer to an experience of our varied and diverse neighborhoods. We can grumble and we can choose not to partake, but I don't view it as a danger. Thanks, brownstoner for taking a crack at it. Maybe I'll get a twitter account...

Posted by: miss priss at July 27, 2009 12:20 PM

> using technology to maintain the idea of relationships

Exactly. Facebook is a great way to keep up with people I kinda sorta want to keep up with. But it is also good for tossing comments back and forth with other people with whom I have more tangible relationships. I'm still not on the tweetwagon yet.

Posted by: DitmasSnark at July 27, 2009 12:24 PM

Hey, Snarky, come over to the OT and tell us how you liked the High Line on Friday.

Posted by: CarrollGardened at July 27, 2009 12:29 PM

ouch dittoburg! Why do you think I am a broker? I never have, and doubt I ever will be a real estate broker.

I am not going to try and explain the benefits of twitter to everyone. I did that last week ion the flea tweets thread. Most of the people on this comment thread are just being sticks in the mud. I will say, that twitter has become very beneficial to me professionally. I recommend giving it a try. It is all about who you follow. It took me a while to figure out how to make it work for me, but now that I have I really like it.

Posted by: king of the burg at July 27, 2009 12:36 PM

So just because you like it why does that make the rest of us sticks in the mud? It works for you- congratulations. Big deal.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 12:51 PM

sticks in mud indeed. twitter has had many productive and important documented uses in the military, emergency services, political campaigns, and big & small businesses.

it aint just about finding out real-time what ashley olsen purged in the ladies room or your buddy failing again to score with someone at the bar.

Posted by: goldie at July 27, 2009 12:54 PM

Technology has become just another addiction. Instead of walking aorund with a cigarette, people walk around with their cells, talking or texting. I'm with bxgrl and bodhi....

Posted by: BH76 at July 27, 2009 12:54 PM

oh yeah- like the senator who tweeted his secret military location at a base in Iraq to his group. Yes- great military and political applications.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 12:57 PM

quote:
it aint just about finding out real-time what ashley olsen purged in the ladies room or your buddy failing again to score with someone at the bar.

uhh... it was mary kate olson who had the eating disorder, not ashley olson. get your facts straight before you choose to insult people.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at July 27, 2009 1:07 PM

The general tone of the previous comments seemed to be a dislike of twitter due to what appears to be a lack of understanding of it. That is what I meant by stick in the mud.

Posted by: king of the burg at July 27, 2009 1:07 PM

"Technology has become just another addiction. Instead of walking aorund with a cigarette, people walk around with their cells, talking or texting. I'm with bxgrl and bodhi...."

so blogging does not count, BH76???

Posted by: Return of Randolph at July 27, 2009 1:10 PM

king- I understand twitter- I just don't choose to use it. It's a choice, just like you choose to use it. FYI- quite a few of the posters who don't like twitter are quite computer savvy.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 1:14 PM

I think you are missing my point. I am not calling anyone stupid, and you don't really need to be computer savvy to use twitter. I just think people are missing its real potential.

I think you have been commenting on this website too long. You seem to view any disagreement as an attack. you should stop being such a stick in the mud.

Posted by: king of the burg at July 27, 2009 1:21 PM

bxgrl and rob: not really forest for the trees people are ya?

Posted by: goldie at July 27, 2009 1:24 PM

Not an attack- just a comment from an overly condescending commenter who seems to think he's smarter than everyone else. Perhaps you should stop kissing your own butt.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 1:25 PM

Ah- yet another ineffectual psychological analysis from goldie. You certainly have a shallow concept of what either I or rob think- but that's to be expected form twitterphiles. Short attention spans. Not much depth. To be clear- I said I didn't like twitter- seems others don't also. No one except you and king ( who love twitter) made it into character indictments. Interesting.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 1:29 PM

alright bxgrl. you can have this thread all to yourself. I wasn't trying to be condescending, but you took it that way and wanted to start a sparing match. I will step out of this discussion. the sandbox is all yours....although you are being kind of a stick in the mud.

Posted by: king of the burg at July 27, 2009 1:37 PM

Sorry King, I though you said as much the other day. My mistake.

Posted by: dittoburg at July 27, 2009 1:38 PM

To be clear, anyone who isn't using Apple TV is a complete stuck in the mud.

Posted by: dittoburg at July 27, 2009 1:39 PM

bxgrl - you took one incident and decided an entire platform wasnt a good idea. not much need for psychological analysis there, you said it yourself.

"You certainly have a shallow concept of what either I or rob think- but that's to be expected form twitterphiles. Short attention spans. Not much depth."

now that was funny! i hope you see the humor in this pot/kettle/black thing.

im done. too much time wasted on this already.

Posted by: goldie at July 27, 2009 1:50 PM

goldie- if in fact you read you will see I specifically said twitter was not for me. You interpreted that to mean I condemned the whole platform I did not. My twitterphiles comment in a response to insults about those of us who choose not to use it. And now I'm done too. thanks to you and kings making a potentially interesting discussion abpit the nature of technology and social networking into much ado about nothing.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 3:16 PM

I admit only a vague notion of what twitter is. So who wants to give explanation of your personal uses. and how it works.
Only 1 I skim and see here is someone mentioning liking to read twitters about the flea which sounds pretty inane. To each his/her own - but there must be something of value if getting all this buzz.

Posted by: Petebklyn at July 27, 2009 3:49 PM

bxgirl, take a chill pill. it was an interesting discussion, but you kind of overreacted, don't you think, if look over your escalations? Anyway, as I said, I'm not a twitterer, but am thinking of becoming one now with this local application. I think it's cool and interesting, but I can also completely understand why people wouldn't like the phenomenon. sometimes the world does feel too noisy these days, but that's the great thing about opting in or out of something...If I didn't like being in touch with old friends, I'd be certain to close down my facebook site - it can get really annoying...

Posted by: miss priss at July 27, 2009 4:27 PM

misspriss- oh, you mean after being called a stick in the mud and being told I can't see the forest for the trees? Oh yeah. sure. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe you should just stick to what you know.

Posted by: bxgrl at July 27, 2009 4:31 PM

No matter how technical, most things can be described in plain English.

I do believe this post just means that if you tweet something relevant to this site and you put the right code in your tweet, your info will automatically be sent to Mr. B or automatically show up on Brownstoner.

Posted by: mopar at July 27, 2009 6:21 PM

URL shorteners obfuscate links, making them untrustable. Twitter would be better served by abandoning the 140 character limit than saddling itself with the growing spam problem shorteners invite.

There's a great article on the problem with URL shortners here: http://bk.ly/oS

Posted by: jarlow at August 14, 2009 12:39 PM

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July 27, 2009

BK.LY Launches

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