Google has quietly introduced its goo.gl URL shortener to the Google Maps Labs section, meaning the feature is currently experimental. Normally, Google Maps URLs are quite long due to all of the coordinates involved. It’s really unpleasant to paste an entire URL linking to a Google Map on an email, IM, or blog post, and it’s very inconvenient to Twitter users for obvious reasons [clue: 160 characters or less].
To begin using short URLs on Google Maps, all you have to do is go to Google Maps Labs by clicking on the little green vial on the upper right corner. Once there, just enabled the Short URL option, which should be second on the list of experimental features. Refresh the page, and the feature should be good to go.
Here’s a comparison of both normal and short Google Maps URLs:
Before:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=38.896544,-77.020683&spn=0.017001,0.038409&z=15
After:
http://goo.gl/maps/iMyx
Unfortunately, as soon as the new short URL is enabled, the embedding feature disappears. Hopefully, when and if the URL shortener graduates from Labs, Google will find a way to allow both features to co-exist. For now, users will have to disable the feature when embedding maps and enable when pasting links. Not a bad price to pay for such great feature.
Let us know what you think.
