Inside LabourStart

When we promote LabourStart campaigns on Twitter and elsewhere, we often need to shorten the link so that it will fit.

For example, we take this link to the current Morocco call centre campaign —

http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2217

— and we shorten it using bit.ly to this —

http://bit.ly/1hf7XIh

We’ve done this for years, and it’s a great tool.  (We’ve used alternatives to bit.ly as well, including tinyurl.)

But there are a couple of downsides:

First, the URL created is not instantly memorable, nor would you want to say it aloud at a public meeting, or radio interview or over the phone.  (Just try saying “http://bit.ly/1hf7XIh”.)

Second, to do this, we rely on external hosts — which we do not pay for — to relay our traffic.  So far we’ve had no problems with this, but it would far better if there were a way to do this on our own server.

In other words, LabourStart could use its own URL shortener.

And now we have one.

Thanks to the people who wrote YOURLS I’ve now been able to create these shortened URLs easily:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/peru -> http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2198

http://www.labourstart.org/go/ranaplaza -> http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2200

http://www.labourstart.org/go/casablanca -> http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2217

And we’re not limited to campaigns.

For example, correspondents who want to login to post news now have to key in this:

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi

This is easier to remember, and shorter:

http://www.labourstart.org/go/login

So, LabourStart now has its own URL shortening system.  And here are the advantages:

• Easier to say.
• Easier to remember.
• Fits better onto a tweet.
• More secure and reliable than an external host.
• And finally, preserves our branding — labourstart instead of labourstartcampaigns.net.