I have wanted to create a custom URL shortener using Bit.ly for a long time and I just figured out how.

Step 1. Buy a Short URL

If you haven’t used domain.nr before it is the perfect place to find snooty, geeky domains that guys with trendy glasses who spend too much time sipping espresso will LOVE.  Names like Flickr, del.icio.us and buzz.io

Step 2. Set an A Record or CNAME record to point your tiny url to bit.ly

doing this is a little bit different on each web host but usually very simple.  bit.ly will give you the CNAME and A records to use. If you are doing a subdomain like I did (i.buzz.io) you MUST use the CNAME.

One tip: lower your TTL value so when bit.ly checks for it it will see it quickly

Step 3. Add it to your bit.ly account

Log into bit.ly and go to account>settings and you should see something like this:

That’s it – you should be ready to go.  Now when you add a link to twitter you can be as cool as the New York Times or other bigshots. This is a great tool for branding or any type of viral marketing.

This information is 100% stolen from trendwatching.com

Here are some conversations that have been collected from twitter where big brands are monitoring the conversation and responding in real time to customer service issues.

Five years ago if your company had world class customer service that meant you had some good information on your website and customers could call your toll free number 24/7

Today? you can no longer afford to wait for customers to bring their complaints to you.  If you are waiting to solve problems you are losing customers. You must be proactive about listening to the conversations and responding in real time. Twitter is an amazing tool for this. Here are some awesome examples from big brands.

Let me just qualify that and say I am throwing in the big brands thing to show that this behavior is now mainstream not that you need a big budget.  We have clients doing this way better than the big boys with micro brands and micro budgets.  check out zarbees on twitter.

Chances are your company or cause is much smaller than these. Can you really afford not to be part of the conversation?