Culld.us Close to the Sun
Thanks to Brian Solis and Jess3 for including Culld.us in their Twitterverse diagram.
The Insecurity of Short URLs
I just got an email from the awesome folks at Joyent alerting me that someone was using Culld.us to redirect to their phishing scam site.
I promptly blocked their IP, wiped the offending URLs from the system and reset the cache.
This experience brings to mind an after hours conversation I had with a couple U of MN network security guys about inherent security risks of short URL services.
Cullect currently recognizes 83 URL shortening services.
EIGHTY-THREE
I’m hard pressed to think of 83 providers of anything (outside of entertainment services). That’s a measure of demand if anything. Even more reason publishers should – as Dave Winer recommends – pull this capability under their own umbrella.
Lee Odden Gives Culld.Us a +1 Mention
Thanks Lee.
Four differentiating features of Culld.us
- Available for your own domain (like http://minnpo.st & http://grv.me) in just 2 steps)
- Built-in Twitter client, supporting multiple Twitter accounts
- Uses 301 redirects
- Easily embed-able into your own blog/website (look for ’short link’ at the bottom of this post).
IWouldHaveBoughtYouThis.com Wraps Gift URLs with Cullect
Conceptually, short URLs are kind of like little, wrapped, gifts. You don’t really know what’s there until clicked…er, um….opened.
So, just in time for a your revised holiday shopping, IWouldHaveBoughtYouThis.com is the latest site to using Cullect’s URL shortening API.
Enter the link to Apple’s iPhone, a ride-on triceratops, or a new Audi A3 into the textfield, and IWouldHaveBoughtYouThis.com returns a ‘wrapped’ URL to share….cause it’s the thought that counts 
MinnPost.com’s Branded URL Shortener Powered by Cullect
I’m very pleased to announce MinnPo.st – the branded URL shortener for Minnesota’s nonprofit journalism enterprise – MinnPost.com. MinnPo.st is the first private-label URL shortener powered by Cullect.com’s API.
For the writers and reporters at MinnPost.com, MinnPo.st has the exact same features as Cullect’s own Culld.us URL shortener – like click counting and posting to Twitter – but with a brand their readers recognize.
For an example of how Karl Pearson-Cater, David Brauer, and the rest of the MinnPost.com team is using MinnPo.st: minnpo.st Twitter Search.
HOW TO: Build Your Own URL Shortener in 2 Steps
First, pick up a domain you’d like to use for your short urls – i.e. mine.url – and turn on a webserver.
To Receive a Shortened URL for your domain from Cullect:
Add the Cullect Item Stats javascript widget to an HTML page, passing it a long URL and your domain:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cullect.com/item.js?only_link=1&link=[the-really-long-url]&domain=mine.url"></script>
To Redirect a Shortened URL from your domain
Add the Cullect redirect to your .htaccess file:
RewriteRule ^(l?[0-9]*)$ http://cullect.com/redirect/$1?domain=mine.url [L]
You now have your own custom domain URL shortener with all the bells and whistles Culld.us has. For extra credit – play around with the options in the Cullect Item Stats widget
Culld.us: Now With Built-In Twitter Client – and Statistics
Culld.us now has a built-in Twitter client – based on the assumption that if you need a shortened URL, it’s likely you want to post it on Twitter.
Here’s a screencast of how it works:
Developer’s Note: Culld.us is built entirely on Cullect’s Item Stats widget. So, you can easily integrate Culld.us into your WordPress blog or other publishing system and see Cullect statistics on everything you publish.
Introducing the Cullect Item Stats Widget
The Cullect Item Stats widget shows 2 things:
- An item’s ‘Short link’ from Culld.us
- The number of times a given post has been ‘Recommended’ in Cullect (this won’t show if the number is 0)
Here’s the code for the widget:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cullect.com/item.js?link=[items-permalink]"></script>
If you’re using WordPress and comfortable hacking your template, paste this code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://cullect.com/item.js?link=<?php the_permalink() ?>"></script>
Important Rank Update: Now Includes Culld.us & Widgets
Now, every time a http://culld.us link is clicked (i.e. the ‘Short Link’ next to each item in Cullect.com reading lists) it influences the item’s Important Ranking.
Same goes for each page with any Cullect widget on it.
It feels good to tie everything together.
Cullect on Twitter- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- Culld.us URLs Recently Shared at Twitter
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