At its base, POPrl.com offers a short url service similar to Bit.ly and Tinyurl, but that’s where the similarites stop. Every link created by POPrl.com is tracked, and the click data on each link is used to create a list of popular sites, a sort of meme tracker crossed with Digg.

The new POPrl.com includes support for thumbnails, embedded video support, and improved algorithms which are said to improve the results on the page. POPrl.com also now offers an API and is working closely to integrate the product with other sites.

The “POP this” button is similar to buttons available from Digg, and Reddit and allows the user to “pop” a story and increase its popularity. Clicking the button also copies the short URL into a users clipboard so they can easy share the link and drive traffic back to the original URL.

POPrl.com co-founder Sam Bensalem is aiming directly a Digg, telling me this in an email:

All of our new efforts are aimed squarely at Digg.com’s flawed model. POPrl is giving every user/click equal say on what’s making news on the web and not just a select few power users or the tech savvy. POPrl by design is so ubiquitous that most users are not even aware they’re voting up a story.

It’s a neat service, and an interesting twist on the short url model that is increasingly becoming popular. If you want to try popping something, a button for this post below.

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