QRCode

Ever see one of those weird block looking things in a magazine, in a store on a sign, perhaps on a business card and wonder "What the hell is that?" Well it's called a QR Code or Quick Response Code. It's a two dimensional barcode that holds a whole lot more information that just a simple number that your standard barcode holds.

These QRCodes are a new(ish) way of getting a message across to someone without having to write it all out. All you need is a smartphone and you're golden. Download a free QR Scanner to your iPhone or Android and go ahead scan that weird blob in and see what comes up. Alright alright, it literally decodes to the following:

BEGIN:VCARD
N:Joseph Cote
TEL;CELL:(760) 563-2683
EMAIL:josephacote@gmail.com
ADR;HOME:;;364 Wilder St;MA;Lowell;01851
ORG:207 Stills
TITLE:Photographer
URL:http://www.207stills.com
BDAY:June 30, 1986
END:VCARD

Which when you use a decoder such as QuickMark QR Code Reader 4 (99¢ via iTunes) it will most likely show you something much prettier like this:

So how is this useful you're asking. How could this crazy system of coding and decoding really be a viable source of communication? Well, just as everything else, it has its place. Let's say you're a small business owner and you want to place an ad in the local paper to advertise your new ice cream stand. Why not take out a very small box that simply has a simple tagline like "Here's the Scoop!" and next to that is a weird matrix of information that if you scan it with your phone brings you right to your ice cream shops website, or perhaps its Google coordinates.

How about you have a business card and you want all your friends, or new colleagues, to have your information in their phone immediately... put one of these QR Codes on your business card and hand 'em out. All your friends or colleagues have to do is scan it in with their iPhone and it will import your name, company name, title, birthday (if you so choose), your business phone number, perhaps a private link to your online resume. Whatever information you want to share, it can be imported to your card info on their phone immediately.