On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 10:48 PM, Cameron Kaiser <spec...@floodgap.com> wrote: > >> The best you can do is use the bit.ly API to un-shorten the link and >> grab your URL key from there. >> >> Have a look at the /expand method in their API: >> http://code.google.com/p/bitly-api/wiki/ApiDocumentation > > Or, implement your own URL shortening scheme (either internally, or using > a specific service that meets your needs), with the assumption that the > shortening will occur and at least this way you can control the situation > under how the shortening is handled.
I believe that Twitter will shorten links over 30 characters, but this does not *always* seem to be the case. Your best bet (IMO) is to determine which service you want to use and shorten the links yourself. I started putting together a list of them not too long ago and came up with these: bit.ly xrl.us tr.im snipr.com tinyarro.ws tinyurl.com icanhaz.com budurl.com There are, no doubt, others.