Quick Response Codes – those crosswordy looking boxes are popping up everywhere!
Developed in 1994 by Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary, giving barcode technology new firepower with increased accuracy and storage capacity; a QR Code has 100 times the capacity of a barcode!
Toyota used QRs on the production line and for the quick display of the inventory of a shipping container full of car parts.Now-a-days, QRs are becoming mainstream in commerce, with a kinda geeky-cool about them. A quick scan reveals a techno rainbow of possibilities andI think people are starting to love them.
They can hold photos or ‘how-to’ videos, links to websites or a form to be completed, even a contact details form for lead generation. Fancy that!
A QR is essentially a graphic alternative to a text web link; please hold that thought while you think about how lazy human beings are. QRs are far easier to scan than typing in a web address and they don’t have finger trouble getting there. Far easier to stick into any print media, just a little square in the unused bottom corner of marketing material, or as a quick link during a TV commercial – they couldn’t be more convenient.
They can be used on pamphlets and fliers, on business cards and bus shelters, even as a menu!
For balance I need a downside… I guess it is in the hands of the user. Do they have a Smartphone?Does the phone have a camera/scanner?Is there an App on the phone to do the recognition and presentation of the information?I’m guessing the answer is mostly ‘yes’ to all of that these days.
So, get out there and spread QR… NOT QAnon!
(Incidentally, Toyota released them as an open-source technology and hence they are free to generate and use – thank you Toyota!)
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