Well, the issue is that words are much more memorable than the random letters at the end of a shortened URL, and fewer words are generally easier to remember th

Well, the issue is that words are much more memorable than the random letters at the end of a shortened URL, and fewer words are generally easier to remember than many words. I guess since most people see URLs through links rather than ever actually having to remember, it's not such a big deal. Long URLs just don't look pretty, and neither do shortened ones.