QR codes - in action. Your turn.
June 21, 2010
I've recently been including QR codes and their potential use within business to amplify Social Media. To connect offline media with online activity. Thought I'd share this on my blog.
The applications I use and recommend are:
Mobile BarCodes
http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-generator
(for code generation, I use this one)
http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-software
(for code generation, I use this also)
Kaywa
http://qrcode.kaywa.com (for generating
codes)
http://reader.kaywa.com (for QR code
reader)
The code reader I have installed on my phones is UpCode
http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/qr-code-software/#upcode
A pause for thought... when creating a QR code think about the value of the
destination being accessed on a mobile devise. It should be a location directly
relevant and information oriented for the user. An article, a podcast, a
video greeting an event or promotion code. For Creative Nottingham I'd suggest
a QR code to the RSS feed http://www.creativenottingham.com/feed/atom
or to a mobile optimised version of the Creative Nottingham site using Mippin
Mobilizer http://www.mippinmaker.com
I've featured QR code potential in my presentation to BAFA (British Arts Festivals Association), E-business Club's Transitional ICT breakfast briefing around the East Midlands and for Creative Nottingham's social media introduction presentation based on the one day workshops I delivered to the FEU training (Federation of Entertainment Unions).
It's my objective to help business understand and leverage social media of all kinds. QR codes seem to has spiked great interest. For example on my business card I have to linking to a publication on ISSUU, Twitter for Beginners.
Get a code reader for your phone and try it.
Let me know what you think? Useful?
23 June 2010 - Update... further pointers
This post was originally triggered by a presentation I delivered to Creative Nottingham and subsequently became a topic for discussion in their huddle network. I've blogged my initial pointers as thought they'd make an informative blog post. I added this to the discussion. Creative Nottingham's Susi O'neill created an optimised version of their web site as a result of the discussion.
"When including a QR on printed material I'd also consider the life span of the material. If it's going to be around for a while you might consider creating a QR code to a specific page you can edit containing links with the Mippin optimised version being top. This then becomes a mobile resource which you can update with out invalidating the QR code on the printed material.That would be solution if you add incentives at a later date as you suggested in your post.
Directing a QR code to the Mippin version would be dynamic of course as it would update when you added a post to the main site."