You’ve seen them. They look like something from The Matrix. You may not know what they’re about, but their popularity (and cost effectiveness) is growing quickly. From a commercial perspective, it’s called “mobile tagging”.
QR is short for Quick Response, because they can be read quickly by a mobile phone through its camera. They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone – this can be links, videos, text, photos and more.
QR codes are generally more useful than a standard bar code because they can store much more data. Most smart phones can scan and convert them in milliseconds. (Don’t have a smart phone yet? You will)
Why put a QR code on a T-shirt? So people can scan it and find out everything about you that you want them to know. Age, lifestyle, job, favorite color – you name it.
Why put it on the window of a car for sale? So all the info a manufacturer and/or dealer wants the consumer to know about that car is delivered in the very best way. Video, audio, whatever. It’s the ultimate salesperson perfected via modern technology.
Ever been house shopping? You drive by a house and pick up a flyer, if they’re not already gone. You want more information than what the flyer tells you, and you want it while you’re in front of the house. So you scan the QR on the mailbox. Boom. 360 walk around, info on offers already made on the house, details way too long to fit on a flyer but still wanted by the potential buyer. It’s all right there.
Yes. Very sci-fi. But just like most other technology, it’s coming at you whether you want to embrace it or not. So why not be an early adopter in your industry and benefit from the additional business that will no doubt be waiting for you?
For more information you can check out QR at Wikipedia.
I love QR codes. I used them to send my boyfriend on a quest around town for his birthday. Each of the QR codes contained a google maps link that directed him to the next clue via GPS. The only issue, iPhone and iPhone 3G have a hard time reading the small ones. That issue was resolved with the new camera on iPhone 3Gs though.
Is this good or bad? Yes, it will be great for a consumer. But this just makes it that much easier for the government and other people to keep track of our identities.
I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing, to no longer live a private life. But I know some people may think so.