Microsoft's internal ego trip with URL "shortener" binged.it
It’s not surprising, following Google’s use of the goo.gl domain name, that Microsoft might use something based on its Bing search engine, but while Google keeps it nice, short and from Greenland, Microsoft has gone for the more popular Italian .it TLD and then stuck a longer name on the front.
Binged.it
Presumably as in “I just Binged it”.
The thing is, although Microsoft has partnered with bit.ly (six characters), it has chosen to use a nine character name.
Bitly and Google both use six, Facebook’s version fb.me is even shorter at just five, while YouTube has gone Belgian with eight at YouTu.be.
Binged.it uses nine characters.
I suppose it’s worth noting that one of the original shorteners, tinyurl.com, used eleven characters, but people have demanded much shorter names since.
Microsoft currently isn’t offering the service to anyone outside the company, so presumably this is all an ego trip.
I can imagine the memos.
“Please ensure all links that you send to one another use our binged.it URL shortener. Other services, particularly goo.gl, will not NOT be tolerated.”
