| I see people scan QR codes often, and even occasionally do myself; but then, I live in Japan. Here, QR codes became popularized well before the 'smartphone', because everybody's regular phone has been able to scan them for years. (I think from around the turn of the millennium, at least.) That makes sense, because as as bad as smartphone on-screen keyboards are, entering URLs on a numeric keypad was even worse. Two days before the OP's blog entry, I just happened to write a note on my own blog in defense of QR codes (not exactly Pulitzer-grade material; see my profile if you're really interested). That was just because recently it seems to have gotten really trendy in the USA to hate on QR codes, but I think that's like hating on hammers. ("Enough with the hammers!") What people are really hating on (I think) is clumsy and stupid marketing involving QR codes. Japan went through a similar thing: as QR codes became popular, marketers got all over-exuberant about them and started inappropriately plastering them all over the place, thinking they looked cool. That gradually fizzled out; Japan Inc. has a recent article about it: http://www.japaninc.com/node/4018 But just because advertisers over-use and abuse QR codes, that doesn't mean QR codes aren't useful. A small barcode that can be scanned with the device that everybody already has in their pocket is a cool thing, and QR codes are nearly that. Especially here. We don't see them as much in ads in Japan anymore (a mock-Google search box showing what to google for has replaced the QR code in a lot of places). But we still use them in everyday life, and to good effect. Kids snap shots of QR codes to get discount coupons for fast food. Shops have a QR code that will direct you to a Google map of the surrounding area whosing their other locations in the vicinity. One of my favorites examples is when a friend was trying to fix his kitchen; one of the pipes underneath had a metal tag stamped with a part number and QR code, which led to the product spec page from the vendor that made it (loooong URL). I have more, but you get the point, and it's miller time. |
I have seen plenty of "stick in a microwave" type meals that have a QR code which, when scanned, display nutritional information which would never have fit on the tiny label.
Mind you this is also in Japan so....