So, Jim convinced me to make the switch from Flickr to SmugMug last week; overall, I’ve been incredibly pleased with the service. I’ll go into the reasons I’m enjoying my time with SmugMug so much more than Flickr in a future post. That said, one aspect I didn’t like was their URL scheme. They have good reasons for doing it, and I can’t fault them for trying to maintain the privacy and security of their users. Heck, I applaud them for it. Still, I like my URLs pretty, and more importantly search engine friendly.
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and build SmugURL. It takes a obfuscated SmugMug URL (be it a gallery, or a direct link to a photo or video) and makes a pretty version suitable for sharing on your site or with friends.
Take, for example, my Myst Online (God rest it’s soul) gallery on SmugMug.
Original URL: http://evansims.smugmug.com/gallery/4717671_Ywtjp#279209234_a2ALu
SmugURL: http://smugurl.com/evansims/myst_online
They take you to the same place, one just gives some indication of what we can expect to find there. What makes this different from the multitude of other shortening services out there? Not much, really. However, I liked the idea of enforcing the SmugMug username in the URL so there is some indication of ownership at a glance.
Give it a try, and let me know if you encounter any problems. It’s very much a work in progress.
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