How to check twitter short addresses are safe
URL shorteners - using bit.ly tinyurl bbc.in and goo.gl

bit.ly - Short Addresses... How to see the actual URL/ web address!

You will see lots of people on Twitter (and elsewhere) using 'bit.ly' short addresses.
As the micro-blogging site only allows you 140 characters to post it's often useful to shorten a link or URL.

Using the bit.ly service to shorten addresses is a good idea BUT how do you tell if it's safe to follow/click someone else's bit.ly link? I like to hover over a link in my browser and look in my status bar to see where it's going to take me. With a bit.ly address you still don't see the real URL/address.

All you need to do is add a + (plus symbol) to the end of the bit.ly address!

For example
A bit.ly address for my Twitter widget demo page is: bit.ly/RbQAC adding a + to make it bit.ly/RbQAC+ will take you to a bit.ly information page showing your the actual full website address along with some user statistics - when the link was created and how many visitor clicks etc.
A clever idea!

bbc.in
BBC URL SHORTENER - Part of the bit.ly service

In August 2010 the BBC (bbc.co.uk) and bit.ly have launched an address shortener only for BBC web pages. All links will only take you to BBC pages* which means they should always be safe to visit! NB. You can still use the + symbol as above with normal bit.ly addresses to check the real page address.

*Update: Even though bbc.in addresses were originally for 'BBC only' web pages I do see the BBC using these occasionally for non-BBC addresses.

Creating bbc.in short addresses:
To create your own bbc.in short address just use bit.ly and if it's a BBC page it will automatically create a bbc.in address for you.

tinyurl.com - Short Addresses...
Checking they are safe to click!

TinyURL is another URL shortener - you can also check if the address you are going to visit is safe before your click the 'short' link. You just need to insert  'preview.' in front of the link.

i.e. preview.tinyurl.com/hmmmplay

This will take you to the TinyURL website where you can see the actual address the shortened url/link will take you to rather than just clicking the link and going to an unsafe or malicious website!

Unlike bit.ly, no usage statistics are available from TinyURL.

If you are the type of person that always wants to see where a link will take you, then the TinyURL 'preview' feature can be permanently turned  by setting a cookie. This is an option available from the TinyURL.com website (see the Preview Feature link).

goo.gl - Launched 30th Sept 2010goo.gl
Google's URL shortener is now available to everyone!

***Google are discontinuing their short URL service.
"From April 13, 2018 only existing users will be able to create short links on the goo.gl console. You will be able to view your analytics data and download your short link information in csv format for up to one year, until March 30, 2019, when we will discontinue goo.gl. Previously created links will continue to redirect to their intended destination."
Visit goo.gl to see the full announcement.

Google's goo.gl service now allows everyone to create short web addresses.
If you have a Google account then visitor analytics (statistics/history) is automatically available for all your own links.

You can also check someone else's goo.gl address to see the real destination address and usage stats by adding .info to the end of the address or a + symbol as with bitly.

i.e. Change the short Google address goo.gl/8wTc (which links to this page) to become goo.gl/8wTc.info or goo.gl/8wTc+

This allows you to see the actual website address in the link and some visitor statistics etc.

Tip: QR CODE (Quick Response Code)

Google also allow you to quickly view/create a QR Code by simply adding .qr to the end of your goo.gl address!

QR Code is a 'matrix' barcode - readable by smart phones, mobile phones with a camera and QR scanners.