I noticed that Twitter’s official iPhone app had been updated and made a Universal App. I was real excited to give it another try as I prefer using the same client on both my iPhone and iPad. While going through the configuration settings I realized I could no longer use my Bit.ly account information to customize and track URLs I share with others. This seemed odd and a big #FAIL on Twitter’s part so I fired off this tweet:

@Twitter‘s app has been updated and now is a universal app (works on iPhone & iPad). They took away the custom URL shortening option? #FAIL

I guess Twitter is trying to stay on top of this one because not too long afterwards a nice, friendly email arrived detailing some upcoming changes to Twitter and how 3^rd Party Apps would interact with their service. Specific to me was this section:

Update 2: t.co URL wrapping

In the coming weeks, we will be expanding the roll-out of our link wrapping service t.co, which wraps links in Tweets with a new, simplified link. Wrapped links are displayed in a way that is easier to read, with the actual domain and part of the URL showing, so that you know what you are clicking on. When you click on a wrapped link, your request will pass through the Twitter service to check if the destination site is known to contain malware, and we then will forward you on to the destination URL. All of that should happen in an instant.

You will start seeing these links on certain accounts that have opted-in to the service; we expect to roll this out to all users by the end of the year. When this happens, all links shared on Twitter.com or third-party apps will be wrapped with a t.co URL.

What does this mean for me?

• A really long link such as http://www.amazon.com/Delivering-Happiness-Profits-Passion-Purpose/dp/0446563048 might be wrapped as http://t.co/DRo0trj for display on SMS, but it could be displayed to web or application users as amazon.com/Delivering- or as the whole URL or page title.
• You will start seeing links in a way that removes the obscurity of shortened links and lets you know where each link will take you.
• When you click on these links from Twitter.com or a Twitter application, Twitter will log that click. We hope to use this data to provide better and more relevant content to you over time.

Thanks for reading this important update. Come and check what’s new at http://twitter.com.

Thanks,
The Twitter Team

So now Twitter wants to track shared URLs to ensure the target is safe. I’m sorta ok with this. I mean why wouldn’t I support efforts that make my online experience safer, right? I don’t, however, like giving up freedoms in the name of safety. I don’t enjoy giving up control. I don’t like how Twitter wants to eliminate what may be a legitimate source of income for many users. I don’t like Twitter doing something that makes it harder for companies trying to track and measure their efforts to reach a willing market.

In truth, the only real reason Twitter has for seizing control of how URLs are shortened is to lay the foundations on which they can monetize their service. This is the beginning of a bad relationship with their millions of users. I guess Twitter hasn’t been watching Facebook to learn what NOT to do.

What are your thoughts?

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