The proliferation of smart phones is helping promote the use of QR codes aka Quick Response aka Quick Read codes. Just launch an app like AT&T's free Code Scanner on your iPhone, Android or BlackBerry, point your smartphone's camera at a QR code, and theapp will recognize the code and open your smartphone's browser to the encoded URL. [QR at left encodes this blog's address.]
Where to use QR Codes
Not everyone has a smartphone or knows what a QR code is. But the demographic that does is growing, and the use of QR codes communicates an innovative posture. Use them on your event posters, brochures, handouts, business cards or even your resume. Encode a special URL in your QR codes and you can track usage.
How to Generate QR Codes
A number of online services offer QR generation. For example shorten your URL using Google's URL shortening service, goo.gl and then append .qr to the resultant shortened URL to generate a QR code graphic. [Details] Update: Also works for any bit.ly link. (via @blendcreations)
References
- Connect your online profile to your offline business cards, about.me/offers/cards
- What Business Card? Just Scan my QR Code, Gina Trapani, fastcompany.com, Mar 16 2010
- QR Codes Help Consumers Shop for Wine, Jennifer Van Grove, mashable.com, Sep 1 2010
- Should Your Resume Have a QR Code? Lindsey Pollack, lindseypollak.com, Mar 17 2011
- April Fool’s Day QR Code Scavenger Hunt, Adam Dachis, lifehacker.com, Apr 1 2011
- Google Continues To Embrace QR Codes, Integrates Them into its URL Shortener, Jason Kincaid, techcrunch.com, Apr 7 2010
Updates, aka Bibliography
- The Curious Comeback of the Dreaded QR Code, David Pierce, wired.com, July 18, 2017
- Carleton Quest, a story-based QR code activity, now available in the App Store, Gail Carmichael, compscigail.blogspot.ca, Jan 4 2013
- Have guests often? Generate a QR code with your WiFi details that you can frame for easy access, Alex Wilhelm, thenextweb.com, Dec 27 2012
- Don't Be Square: How to Integrate a QR Code into any Image, DaveGuymon.com, Dec 11 2012
- 8-Track Tapes, Hula Hoops and QR Codes in Mobile Marketing, Rob Curtis, ayantek.com, Dec 3 2012
- Can FinderCodes, An Electronic Lost-And-Found System, Make Us Give a Damn About QR Codes, David Zax, fastcompany.com, Nov 2 2012
- Finding Effective Ways of Using QR codes, Nilufer Erdebil, spring2innovation.com, Sep 2012
- QR codes now popping up on gravestones in Denmark, Jennifer Goula, qrcodepress.com, Sep 7 2012
- 18 Cool Ways Colleges Are Using QR Codes, onlineColleges.net, Aug 26 2012
- Report: QR code use rising in unexpected ways, Matt Wilson, prdaily.com, Aug 17 2012
- Why QR Codes Don't Work, Alex Kutsishin, fiddlefly.com, in Forbes.com, Aug 3 2012
- 5 Reasons QR Code Marketing Is Broken (and How to Fix It), Dan Wilkerson, maskable.com, May 17 2012
- QR Codes in Job Search: Really?, Sharon Graham, sharongraham.ca, Apr 2012
- Read QR Codes With Your iPhone, John Martellaro, macobserver.com, Apr 11 2012
- Scanned QR codes link students to learning, Chris Dunker, BeatriceDailySun.com, Feb 13 2012
- QR Codes on the Rise in Print Magazines, David Strom, readwriteweb.com, Jan 26 2012
- 10 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes for Marketing, Ekaterina Walter, mashable.com, Jan 14 2012
- QR Codes: The Next Big Thing In Recruiting Technology?, John Sullivan, ere.net, Nov 21 2011
- QR Codes Are Making Their Way Into the Holiday Season, Tonya Garcia, mediabistro.com, Nov 14 2011
- 5 Uses of QR Codes in the Classroom, Shilpy Pattar, wizIQ.com, Nov 10 2011
- P&G Takes to the Subways to Sell Goods, Rupal Parekh, adage.com, Oct 31 2011
- A QR code carved into a pumpkin, tweet via Vivian Cheng @blendcreations, Oct 30 2011
- What's a QR Code and why should you care? Jefferson Graham, usatoday.com, Oct 28 2011
- No QR Codes Aren't Dead. They're Just Used Badly, B.L. Ochman, adage.com, Oct 26 2011
- Where not to use QR codes - Part 4, Ivor Tossell, globeandmail.com, Oct 17 2011
- Why the QR code is failing, Sean X Cummings, imediaconnection.com, Oct 14 2011
- QR code-making tips to keep in mind - Part 3, Ivor Tossell, GlobeandMail.com, Oct 10 2011
- 3 in 10 Consumers Lack QR Code Understanding, marketingcharts.com, Oct 7 2011
- Lessons from a QR Veteran - Part 2, Ivor Tossell, GlobeandMail.com, Oct 3 2011
- A Guide to Using QR Codes to Get your Videos Seen, telestream.net, Sep 21 2011
- Are QR codes the wave of the future, or just really annoying?, Ivor Tossell, globeandmail.com, Aug 16 2011
- Kuapay Let's Mobile Users Pay With QR Codes, Jennifer Van Grove, mashable.com 15 Aug 2011
- Comscore finds 6.2 percent of smartphone users scan QR codes, Donald Melanson, engadget.com, Aug 13 2011
- 5 Big Mistakes To Avoid in Your QR Code Marketing Campaign, Matthias Galica, mashable.com, Aug 2 2011
- The Down Low on QR Codes, Jonathan Miseferi, cyancreativedge.com, Jul 28 2011
- 15 Beautiful and Creative QR Codes, Amy-Mae Elliott, mashable.com, Jul 23 2011
- Generate a QR code for a bit.ly link, add ".qr" at end of any bitly link, Vivian Cheng, @blendcreations Jul 23 2011
- Dutch coins feature QR codes, promise 'surprises', Brian Heater, engadget.com, Jun 18 2011
- Barcode? Passé. Here comes the QR, Shan Li, csmonitor.com, Jun 17 2011
- How to: Create & Use a QR Code for your Personal Brand, Pam Sahota, oneforty.com, Jun 17 2011
- Make even better connections with QR codes, Terence Eden, moo.com, Jun 7 2011
- Headstones become interactive with new app, Jenni Dunning, Toronto Start, theStar.com, May 31 2011
- Bar Codes the Latest High Tech Add-on To Wedding Invites, Ina Fried, AllThingsD.com, May 28 2011
- Breathing Life into PDFs, Cell, Volume 145, Issue 5, May 27 2011
Cell connects PDFs with supplemental material online by introducing 2D "Quick Response" barcodes. Scan a code with your smart phone to uncover animated figures, interviews, videos… - Target: Customers on the Go 'quick response' codes aim to take advantage of the boom in smartphones, Emily Glazer, online.wsj.com, May 16 2011
- 6 Good Reasons to Add a QR Code to Your Business Card, Donna Svei, avidcareerist.com, May 15 2011
- Use QR Codes and Dropbox to Share Event Photos, Matthew Rogers, lifehacker.com, May 5 2011