Webnames.ca StaffThe first time I saw a QR Code was about a year ago on a photo of a realtor’s lawn sign that was posted on Flickr. I thought it was interesting but didn’t understand what a QR Code was or could do.
It’s amazing what a year can do for the popularity of a piece of technology. We’re beginning to see them everywhere.
QR Codes are the square shaped barcode thingys that you have been seeing in newspapers and on other print material. They are a 2D barcodes that hold information on the vertical and the horizontal. Regular barcodes hold 20 digits, these bad boys can carry loads more information than that.
If you scan them with your Smartphone they tend to return information from the other side of URL. Your phone scans the URL and then launches your browser and takes you to the piece of information the code was advertising.
Our office in downtown Vancouver is in the historic Gastown area. The Gastown Blog and the Gastown Business Improvement Society have teamed up to provide historical information on the buildings in the neighbourhood via the QR 2 code.
The building next to our offices has a code in the window and all you have to do is scan it and it gives you the history of the building.
This is such a fabulous idea. Imagine you are in Milan and you see some beautiful building that you would like to get more information about but your Italian is “poor”. You just scan the code and get linked to a podcast perhaps or an English version of the historical society’s website. DIY walking tours!
I like the QR 2 code for real estate – rental, sales and leases. You walk by a For Lease sign on an office building. You scan the code on the sign and it brings up the dot tel for the building that gives you rates, space available etc. You scan the code on a For Rent sign and it shoots you off to the Craigslist posting with prices and pictures. You scan it on a For Sale sign and the virtual tour loads in an instant.
You can pay your restaurant bill via the code and phone these days (not everywhere but soon – soon). I’m sure somebody has already thought of linking them to review sites so I can make intelligent decisions when I’m buying a camera or a netbook or some such.
What uses would you put them to? Send us any cool uses you have already seen. This bandwagon needs a parade!
Image – Webnames.ca’s .TEL GIft Card QR Code