Bit.ly launches "Bundles" Multi-Link Sharing with One URL' , How it compares to BridgeURL ?
Bit.ly one of the most popular URL shortener has just released a multi-link sharing service called "Bundles". Services like this already existed and I was really enthusiast about BridgeURL that I have discovered via a post on Mashable . Before comparing the two products here is bit.ly key features announcement :
Introducing bit.ly Bundles!
We are thrilled to announce the launch of bit.ly bundles, a new way of sharing multiple links with a single bit.ly short URL. You can start bundling links right away! Just head over to bit.ly, shorten some links and then hit the “Bundle” button. Every link you add to a bundle will include a rich media preview (courtesy of our friends at embed.ly) and a bit.ly click count, and can be customized with a title and description. Try it out with your favorite video, photo, and any other links you’d like to curate and share! " Read more here: http://blog.bit.ly/post/1584931022/introducing-bit-ly-bundles
One of the main advantage of using Bit.ly Bundles over BridgeURL will be necessarily their analytics power, but it has other interesting features. I will try to compare them features by features when applicable.
BridgeURL interface is pretty basic all you have to do is to write a title and post your links, no fancy feature heres. But it must be noted that you don't have to sign up to use their service, it is at the same time an advantage and a weakness as we will see later.
Bit.ly Bundles requires a registration but it is not a real problem as most of us already have an account. The good thing is that you will have the possibility to add comments and descriptions to your links. As you can see on the screenshot below it even displays thumbnails (when available), which gives a nice graphic experience. As it is linked to your account the created bundle is stored and can be edited in the future, something that is really missing with BridgeURL ...
You also have the option to rearrange the links order which comes in handy. Here is my first bundle created with Bit.ly : http://bit.ly/bundles/vonbrucken/1?preview=1 As you can see they have enabled Disqus comments, the About.me thumbnail is not displayed but I think that most will be displayed. The BridgeURL way of displaying links looks pale in comparison as you can see here, there is no way of storing your link, unless you bookmark it you will lose it forever. As there is no registration form, there is no way of editing or enriching your links collection. People won't be able to comment directly on the page and you have no way of tracking how many times it has been watched. But despite of its imperfections BridgeURL is still relevant thanks to its magnificent Slideshow. Watch it here : http://bridgeurl.com/How-http-bridgeurl-com-compares-to-the-new-bit-ly-bundles-for-my-blog-http-smaaw-tumblr-com Note from their website: Please Note : Some links may not work because the destination site may have blocked the display of their content on IFrames. You can read more about this issue here. So it is always a good idea to test the bridgeURL you have created before sharing the link with others.
I was talking with Adrian Fusiarski about these two services and I think his reply sums it up perfectly :
@vonbrucken Yeah liking Bitly too, need to combine some of the features of both into one, now that would be better !Tue Nov 16 11:32:01 via HootSuiteAdrian Fusiarski buzzsonic
I think I will use the two services for now .
