Kevin Gilbertson is a web developer best known as the creator of TinyURL

TinyURL

TinyURL is a URL shortening service, a web service that provides short aliases for redirection of long URLs. Kevin Gilbertson, a web developer, launched the service in January 2002 so that he would be able to link directly to newsgroup postings that frequently had long and cumbersome addresses.-...

 launched in January 2002. TinyURL is a URL shortener

URL shortening

URL shortening is a technique on the World Wide Web in which a Uniform Resource Locator may be made substantially shorter in length and still direct to the required page. This is achieved by using an HTTP Redirect on a domain name that is short, which links to the web page that has a long URL...

, a web service that provides short aliases for redirection of long URLs.

According to Wired

Wired (magazine)

Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...

, Gilbertson had been riding unicycle

Unicycle

A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...

s since he was a kid, and created TinyURL to convert postings on unicycling newsgroup

Newsgroup

A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...

s into Web pages (since fewer people know their way around newsgroups than the Web). Google's AdSense

AdSense

Google AdSense which is a program run by Google Inc. allows publishers in the Google Network of content sites to automatically serve text, image, video, and rich media adverts that are targeted to site content and audience. These adverts are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google, and they...

 links covered operating costs.

Gilbertson, known by friends as "Gilby," lives in Blaine

Blaine

- Places :In the United States:* Blaine, California* Blaine, Indiana* Blaine, Kentucky* Blaine, Maine* Blaine, Minnesota* Blaine, North Dakota, former name of Menoken* Blaine, Ohio* Blaine, Washington* Blaine , Wisconsin...

, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. He learned about computers from his father, a software developer, with whom he also rides unicycles as part of the Twin Cities Unicycle Club.