WARNING!!! Jargonistic Technobable ahead.
I suppose that the first question is “what the ^%$& is QR-Code?”. QR-Code is a proprietary 2D bar-code technology that allows for a considerable amount of data to be encoded within it. Traditional 2D bar- codes can store up to 2355 alpha characters while QR-Code can store 4296. QR-Code has been around in the automotive industry for over ten years to track the movement of parts through the manufacturing system.
Now the real question, “why do I care?”. The biggest reason that you will care is that Google has begun to care. Google has taken the stance that this type of technology has the capability to revolutionize print advertising. Google has adopted the technology in it’s “Google Print Ads” extension.
QR-Code is already hot in Japan. They are already used to store information about products on shelves, magazine articles, newspaper ads and a slew of other applications. Most cell phones in Japan are equipped with a QR capable camera. This allows the consumer to pull up lots of information by simply scanning the bar-code on the product.
There have been similar efforts in the US to implement a code based system in advertising but at the time, the technology to tie them directly to a web enabled cell phone did not exist. Now that the stars have aligned, don’t be surprised if you see more of this kind of technology in the near future.
Interested? Try it yourself here.
Until next time, happy blogging.
QR code is trademarked by Denso Wave, inc
Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!