Just scanned my first QR Code. Downloaded a QR Reader app on the iPhone a while ago but didn't get round to using it til tonight. I was flicking through a TV magazine and found one out of the blue. It contained various trailers for TV programmes.
Great fun! And ingenious too! So many possibilities! I saw a couple on the walls when I visited the library at the Stoke campus of Staffordshire University recently, wish I'd had chance to scan them to see what treasures they held.
Looked up Quick Responce Codes on Wikipedia to find out a bit more about them. Didn't realise they were as old as they are, and I especially didn't realise they'd been used in Kylie and Pet Shop Boys pop videos! Widely used in the East but with a slow uptake in the West.
Hmmm, just a little randomness here, thinking out loud; wonder if I can generate a QR Code for this blog and then post it to my Facebook profile? I shall let you know how I get on...
Hi Cara - sorry I didn't get chance to say hello at the Members' Day at Staffordshire University. I did scan the QR codes there and they take you to a webpage with more information - so for example outside the "iLab" if you scan the code it takes you to a page with information about the iLab and how to use it. Really great to see them being used this way!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a blog post about QR codes last year with some of the ways they are being used or could be used - some interesting ideas came out of the comments too: http://www.joeyanne.co.uk/2010/02/11/barcode-and-qr-code-fun/
If you do want to experiment with QR codes, it's really easy to create them online (I use http://qrcode.kaywa.com/). I'm planning to include a QR code to my web presence next time I get some business cards made.
Update - I generated a code for this blog using the site Jo recommended in the above comment. Very simple and straight forward with no technical knowledge required.
ReplyDeletePosted it on my Facebook page so that my friends could use the link to visit Behind the Bookshelves (I don't usually mention the blog on Facebook, I prefer to keep them separate). The results of the QR experiment:
Four people posted Facebook comments
Blog stats show that on that day alone, Facebook directed 16 viewers to the blog
A few people commented that without smart phones they are inable to access the info
One Facebook friend then even generated a code himself directing people to his blog.
Good fun!