Speaking of Joel Comm, he recently launched a url shortening/vanity service focused on Twitter called TwitPwr (to accompany his book, Twitter Power).
Jim Kukral and I went back and forth over the service on last week’s GeekCast. Basically, my point is that Joel’s service doesn’t add much for users besides the vanity factor. I argued that bit.ly is a much much better product, has an API, and is more robust for serious users who don’t need the ego stroking.
But this morning, after trying to blog about Joel’s Twitter study in the previous post, I realized something else that is a deal-breaker for me when it comes to TwitPwr:
Once someone uses TwitPwr to link to a post or site from Twitter, you can’t get the original URL of the site. The TwitPwr wrap or frame stays on top of the site. And the TwitPwr wrap or frame stays with you whereever you go past that point (until you close that Tab or Window). So, whether you’re blogging or passing on the link, you’re stuck with the TwitPwr shortened URL if you’re clicking around. Not cool.
That might be kosher for a few of you, but for most affiliate marketers, that could be a big deal since the URL has a great deal to do with conversions in terms of link names.
On the other hand, bit.ly immediately drops off after it does its original job… shortening the linked URL from Twitter or an email or a post, etc.
Not to mention, bit.ly has a very nice API. That’s a big difference.
If Joel is going to keep pushing TwitPwr and if influential people in the affiliate marketing space are going to use the service, I hope they are aware of this pretty serious flaw in the service. Otherwise, this is more MLM than affiliate marketing.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Joel. He’s a nice guy and I consider him a pal. However, I also have a big place in my heart for Twitter and have to speak up when I see goofy things like this happening.
The TwitPwr “How It Works” page includes this language:
WHAT IS TRUE TWITTER POWER?
Is it really the number of followers you have, or is the ability to get your followers to Take Action?
When you use the TwitPwr short url service, we track the number of clicks that you drive via the Twitter API, and give your account a Power Rating.
Your Power Rating is not only the unique traffic that you generate, but it’s also based on how many Twitter users you refer to our service.
Those referrals you generate will also play apart in driving even more traffic to your site.. Stay Tuned!
If that is Twitter Power, then blessed are the meek.
I’m sticking with bit.ly for my url shortening and spreading needs.
TwitPwr is in Beta. More features, new design and a top frame close button are being rolled out very shortly. The top frame close button will be live today as will user profile pages with the user's created links.You are currently seeing about 20% of TwitPwr functionality on the site. We haven't disclosed a lot of the features yet, because of competition in the market place.Didn't Jim Kukral mention that we were in beta on your Geekcast?
Sounds good, I'll be looking for the improvements. Consider this part of my beta testing 🙂
This comes across as “it's beta, so don't complain or point out any shortcomings” to me.
That's basically what I said on GeekCast yesterday, Daniel:http://bit.ly/lhgeI participate in a ton of beta and alpha testings since I'm a chronic early adapter and understand the basics of many coding languages. This sort of dismissive response towards people kicking the tires of the service is not only trite, but makes me definitely not want to use the service in the future when it “comes out of beta.”
Haven't had a chance to listen to Geekcast yet – looking forward to it today on the drive up to Santa Fe.One of my pet peeves is when people throw out a half baked product, call it a “beta” and expect people to do their testing for them. That's not what a beta version is supposed to be. Betas are supposed to be handled in-house. Products are supposed to be finished before releasing them to the public. Alpha > Beta > Gold, and if your users find problems, you issue patches or updates. If your product relies on real-world testing, that's fine – but explain that instead of just slapping a 'beta' label on it and using that label as an excuse for the product's shortcomings.20% of the functionality is on the site? That's not even half-baked, that's fifth-baked – and the functionality that is being talked about for future implementation is basic stuff that should have been in before the service went public.
TwitPWR added an “X” to fix that issue.
twitpwr gets you indexed pages that interlinked with keyword links to your profile and the site you are linking to…it also builds a ton of associated content to make those links more valuable. You need to take a look at the entire system before you make a judgement…or get someone to look at it that is qualified from an SEO and traffic standpoint to understand what is happening behind the scenes. Twitpwr drives traffic and followers…nothing else does.
sweet, i heart frames, can we get some blink back too?Really though, frames? Isnt it 2009? Wasn't it pretty well determined that frames are antithetical to the purpose of the WWW about 10 years ago or so?
Good post. Another deal-breaker for me is the redirection. Bit.ly uses 301 Permenant redirects, while TwitPwr doesn't use any redirects, just framing.This means that when I use bit.ly, Google indexes my pages and gives backlink credit to my original site, while when using TwitPwr, TwitPwr gets all the credit.I looked around, and this article speaks about 301/302 redirections and SEO:http://news.stepforth.com/blog/2008/01/redirect…Another point for bit.ly!
Good post. Another deal-breaker for me is the redirection. Bit.ly uses 301 Permenant redirects, while TwitPwr doesn't use any redirects, just framing.This means that when I use bit.ly, Google indexes my pages and gives backlink credit to my original site, while when using TwitPwr, TwitPwr gets all the credit.I looked around, and this article speaks about 301/302 redirections and SEO:http://news.stepforth.com/blog/2008/01/redirect…Another point for bit.ly!
Both are cool. I like Ow.ly personally because Ow.ly integrates smoothly with Hootsuite. I think Twitter Power reaches out to the more obsessive tweeter than other twitter platforms. Kudos to Joel for such an interesting product!
The frames are used to drive more traffic and followers to the person who tweeted the link. The top bar links to the profile of the person, and we have a referral link which gives them more “twitpwr juice” when those they refer sign up for the service. The more twitpwr ranking you have, the more users see your profile and follow you on Twitter.So users get more followers and exposure for all the links they create in the system.. And every URL gets its own profile page which generates passive traffic as well as helps build organic rankings.The frame is key to helping every user/site owner get more traffic.In response to amerkwr's comment. Every link that gets submitted gets its own profile page so you're getting backlinks throughout our site every time a link is submitted.
Great! a new design! I'm looking for the improvement of this beta. just make a good move. I'm looking forward for your next post, so keep on posting!
No matter what this article says I will always go for bit.ly because its trusted by me and many others I using it for my CPA lead hiding and it has never failed me.Thanks and Regards
Yeah you are rite this still there isnt any news about it! but one thing is for sure Bit.ly is working fit and fine.Cheers
It also builds a ton of associated content to make those links more valuable. You need to take a look at the entire system before you make a judgement…or get someone to look at it that is qualified from an SEO and traffic standpoint to understand what is happening behind the scenes. Twitpwr drives traffic and followers…Thanks and Regards
well users get more followers and exposure for all the links they create in the system.. And every URL gets its own profile page which generates passive traffic as well as helps build organic rankings.Thanks and Regards
Betas are supposed to be handled in-house. Products are supposed to be finished before releasing them to the public. Alpha > Beta > Gold, and if your users find problems, you issue patches or updates. If your product relies on real-world testing, that's fine – but explain that instead of just slapping a 'beta' label on it and using that label as an excuse for the product's shortcomings.Thanks and Regards
WOW I never knew this, thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing the post.
twitpwr gets you indexed pages that interlinked with keyword links to your profile and the site you are linking to…it also builds a ton of associated content to make those links more valuable. You need to take a look at the entire system before you make a judgement…or get someone to look at it that is qualified from an SEO and traffic standpoint to understand what is happening behind the scenes. Twitpwr drives traffic and followers…nothing else does.
It also builds a ton of associated content to make those links more valuable. You need to take a look at the entire system before you make a judgement…or get someone to look at it that is qualified from an SEO and traffic standpoint to understand what is happening behind the scenes. Twitpwr drives traffic and followers…Thanks and Regards
Thanks for sharing the post.
Thanks for sharing the post.