Gone are the days where you have to stay glued to the television set to catch the latest news on what is happening in other parts of the world. We have twitter for that. Gone are the days where we have to drive miles just to deliver an important business document in order to get things done. We have email. Gone are the days where we have to call our kids who are studying overseas just to find out what they're up to. We have Facebook and instant messaging.
The world is changing and we have to change along with it.
Introducing a not-so-new technology invented by Denso-Wave in 1994 – QR Codes. Although it's been more than 10 years since QR Code's invention, the rest of the world are beginning to see how using QR Codes can resolve many modern problems. It short-cuts time, it brings us closer, it brings us instant information, it promotes interactivity and helps us make better information when shopping.
QR Code may not be aesthetically pleasing but the black and white dots, squares and outline boxes was extensively used for tracking of parts in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry. QR Codes can be spotted in magazine advertisements, posters, brochures, leaflets, product packaging, labels and bottles too. QR Codes is known as the link between the physical world to our online one because by scanning the QR Code, you will be brought to websites, blogs, profile pages, mobile web pages, media files, download links, etc. It is significant because if one were to access a long URL from a mobile phone, we would have to remember a whole string of URL or navigate our way from the home page into the one that we're looking for. QR Code IS the long URL.
In the future, everything will be mobile. From blogging to updating of websites, obtaining information to traveling in a foreign country, from purchasing tickets to using coupons. The QR Code technology have revolutionised the way the world works and it's important for everyone to be in on it. The same way the internet morphed the way we live and communicate with each other, QR Code's impressive tools will affect our way of life the same way.
So, make no mistake about it. QR Codes is not only for the young. It's for EVERYONE.
How it works
QR codes, or quick response codes, is a type of 2D bar code that may be decoded using your smartphone with a QR code reader. From being a tracking mechanism for auto parts, QR codes have proven to be very useful in marketing and convenience related applications that is more suitable for smartphone users. In the recent months, we have seen QR codes show up on marketing materials such as movie posters, promotional posters for various products, billboards, flyers, among other things. These have also been seen on newspaper ads, business cards, artwork, and other everyday things.
There are two main things that you have to have when you deal with QR codes:
1. A mobile phone with a camera and Internet connectivity
2. A QR code reader
Where do I get a QR code reader?
Most smartphones coming out nowadays have a QR code reader already installed. For some, you would need to download the reader free of charge from your APP store (just search for QR Code reader in your APP store)
How do you scan the QR code?
After you have your reader installed, fire up the application and snap a picture of the QR code. Make sure that your hand is steady and that you are able to include the whole code into the picture.
Resolving the link
Depending on your software, it may take some five to 10 seconds for the application to resolve the link for you. That is to say, to decode the information written behind the code. If it is a URL, the QR code reader will open your browser and let you surf the mobile site the code links to.
If it is a VCF card, a file that contains a person's contact information, it will offer to save the information into your address book.
QR codes EVERYWHERE
You don’t have to be a business owner in order to benefit from the emerging QR code technology. However, if you ARE a business person, it is an incredibly versatile and cost effective technology that is available to you. A wave of acceptance is sure to hit this part of the world as soon as more people become aware of its great many uses.
You can get people or customers to go to your website, blog, business social media profile, product pages, articles, media sites, your own personal Facebook or other online social networking sites, among other.
It also acts as a business card. Some people are already beginning to generate a QR Code and printing them onto their business cards too.
With QR Codes, it simply means that you now have a bridge between your offline product with online information. The separation between the two is now blurred. What's more, with mobile phones like smart phones, you can get connected to anything that is online, no matter where you go.