URL shortening is just a pun. The web is unchanged except that certain long URLs can be referenced with a shortened, more compact name. The longer, cumbersome

URL shortening is just a pun. The web is unchanged except that certain long URLs can be referenced with a shortened, more compact name. The longer, cumbersome name is still there. Guessing long and complex URLs is not a common modality of use for the web. Search and links rule. The persistence issue is a big more complex since the validity of a link depends upon a third party. Shortened links are ephemeral like everything else on the web and may not always be a good choice.