QR Code – A game of hide and seek

Have you noticed those new little funny, black and white squares on products lately? First I saw it on a bottle of shampoo. A few days later we got a letter from the Toyota dealership that had one on it. Of course, I didn’t really know what it was called at the time. But, after some strange Googling I finally found it!

It’s called a QR Code. And you’ll be noticing that little bugger more!

Brief History:

QR Codes were actually created by a Toyota based company back in the 90’s. They were intended to be used for tracking of automotive parts during manufacturing.

Present:
Companies are using the codes for various forms of marketing. Calvin Klein had one on a building in New York City – the code when read with a reader took them to a website with a special commercial video.

How many uses?

I found a blog by Don Smigrod that suggested 101 various marketing uses for the QR Code.

How does it work?

The Code can be read by various smart phones downloadable apps. I got the free one by typing in a search on my iTunes search.

When you see one of these codes, scan it with your reader and you then can hop over to where the owner of the label wanted to direct you. It may be to a website, or some text, or a phone number that appears on your phone.

Can I do it?

You BET you can! A QR code can be generated for no charge at http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

I’m not going to begin to tell you HOW to use your code. Heck, the 101 uses probably just scratches the surface. Let your imagination soar! I’m sort of lovin’ the idea of having the code on a T-shirt.

I’m betting the smart minds will begin developing more ingenious ways to apply this cool little app. It will be fun to look for more of the codes and see what other business owners are doing!

Hope you have fun with this cool little bit of technology!