URL Shorteners = Evil?

Over at the Coding Horror, Jeff Atwood has mentioned exactly what he thinks of URL shorteners.  Oddly enough, even though I’m writing a plugin that requires the use of a shortener, I agree with him.

Shorteners, although convenient and necessary for microblogging, have a tendency to obscure the linking structure that makes the web usable.  They add another service that goes between the browsing user and the browsed site.  Another point of failure in an already fragile system.  Someone to absorb your pagerank, add advertisements, and add delays to browsing.  And, of course, to redirect to shock sites.

And yet, with a 140-character limit to microblogging bursts, it’s often necessary to shorten URLs.  Yes, it’s a short-term gain, but what are the long-term effects?  And how long will it take us to realize them?

I, for one, will continue to microblog with shortened URLs; I doubt that my Twitter usage will significantly impact my blog’s stats.  My followers know I’m not likely to post a link to shock them, except maybe for April 1st.