
American Business: Cracking the QR Code - hamiltonchan
http://www.openforum.com/yourbusinesstv
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eggbrain
As a consumer, I hate QR codes. They totally obfuscate what is going to happen
-- Many times there is little to no information about where a QR code will
send me.

As an iPhone user, I also need to download an app to read the QR codes, and
suddenly I now have another choice to make -- which app is the best quality
and least spammy of the ones listed.

As a designer, I also think they are quite ugly -- Try putting one of these
into your beautifully designed billboard/magazine and it looks pretty
terrible.

The business side of me appreciates the metrics that come from this, but I
think QR is a stopgap technology until RFID readers become mainstream.

~~~
cobrabyte
Can you print an RFID tag? Can an RFID tag be read off of a billboard? I like
RFIDs but I don't think they'll completely replace QR codes.

I agree that marketers should explicitly tell you _what_ a scanned QR code is
going to do.

I've found i-nigma's iPhone app to be the fastest (free) scanner. Blazingly
so.

QR codes were never designed for public consumption and look quite _digital_.
I like the trend of 'designer QR codes' and error-correction within the QR
code's data payload allows for a certain amount of design freedom.

~~~
eggbrain
There are definitely problems with RFID tags, but I think QR codes are even
worse. That's why I say it's a stopgap -- maybe RFID fixes its issues, or
maybe something completely better comes out, but I don't see QR codes being
around 10 years from now (outside of business applications at least).

I'll have to check out i-nigma's app, but this isn't going mainstream until
it's integrated into the phone. I believe Android already does (Google
Goggles?), but get iPhone on board and we will definitely see the market turn.

I think designer QR codes look better, but this is an issue of putting
lipstick on a pig -- it looks better, but not that much better.

~~~
cobrabyte
I was quite surprised that Apple didn't build-in QR scanning abilities into
iOS 5 / iPhone 4s.

They probably share your thoughts regarding the look of QR codes and are
waiting for adoption rates to be higher (I.e. 'cross the chasm'). Or they're
waiting on a more designer-friendly solution to fill the gap.

I believe Android phones have QR scanning built-in.

~~~
nupark2
I would assume that Apple doesn't support QR codes because most consumers
don't particularly have a use for them.

I see QR codes _everywhere_ in NYC, but actually getting one onto my phone
involves stopping, taking my phone out, spending 10-30 seconds with the QR
code.

If your advertisement is capable of inducing me to do that much work, that's a
pretty fantastic advertisement. However, despite the QR codes being damn near
everywhere, I've still not bothered to scan one.

QR codes are, in my estimation, a fad.

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callmeed
Good Lord, it's so sad that mainstream media is helping push this idea that QR
codes are good for small business.

Look at the traffic snapshot for that NYC liquor store they profile:
<http://cl.ly/3s3Q1J3s0x1Y2f3w3V3x>

That looks to be about 45 visits for 1 month. FORTY FIVE! That poor lady
probably spent 4-figures in cost and time implementing that crap.

I've never seen someone scan a QR code on a storefront in the wild.

I can't wait until these things go away.

~~~
artursapek
I too have never seen anyone actually scan one. They won't be around much
longer.

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JimmyL
QR codes suffer from a bunch of problems - not least of which is that it's
cumbersome to read them.

iPhone? Need to find/pick/install/test an app. Likewise for Android (I think).
BlackBerry's got reader software baked-in, but you'd never find it organically
(why is the easiest way to get it open through BBM's _Scan a Group Barcode_
option?).

In the time it took to do that, a user could have just typed the URL in, and
known exactly what would happen. I'm on a BlackBerry, and even though I know
how to run my QR reader, it's still easier and quicker for me to just type it
in manually.

Similarly, it often seems the people who design posters/ads that feature QR
codes have no concept of how you'd scan them - if there's a code on a
billboard that's three stories up a building, there's no way my camera will
pick that up. Conversely, if the ad is a subway poster (which I'll never be
more than 3ft from), you don't need a 4ft diagram.

The marketer in me (and everyone) loves them because they allow metrics down
to the individual poster/magazine edition, and make it easy - in theory - to
jump from something physical to something online. Actual users don't care
about them, because there's no perceived increase in value or convenience over
the tried-and-true-and-well-understood method of just Googling the product
name.

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jmah
The real estate signs made sense to me, because if you're interested you'd
probably snap a photo of the sign anyway to remember the address and agent.
But I don't get why you'd make your customers scan a code in your store --
they're already IN YOUR STORE.

~~~
jamesbkel
Agree on both points. Another situation where I've found QR codes useful for
the consumer is links within print publications. I would hesitate to follow
any QR codes in a print ad, but for something along the lines of a follow-up
video to an article, QR codes can be convenient for the reader.

------
mds
I think QR codes have the same problem as the segway
(<http://www.paulgraham.com/segway.html>) -- it makes the user look like a
doofus.

Walking up to an ad or whatever and waving my my phone around at it just feels
un-cool and socially awkward.

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earlyriser
The problem with QR codes is that almost nobody gives a hint of where the QR
code directs. People need a reason to scan.

By the way I'm launching <http://qranberry.me> to make mobile sites and QR
codes in a snap.

------
Andys
We're using QR codes instead of Bar codes for document management. The codes
hold more information and being square instead of rectangular, look more
discrete.

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kellysutton
See: <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000037.html>

~~~
spacemanaki
And this: <http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/01/29.html>

"People have camera phones with web browsers now. Some things are still the
same: typing URLs is not hard ... "

Actually it is.

The problem with Joel's argument is that I don't think he's ever tried to type
a URL on a phone. It was an infuriating exercise in 2008 when he wrote that
post, and it's an infuriating exercise today, even on the iPhone and on my
Android phone.

I use a QR code as a quick link to deploy a new build of an app I'm working on
to an Android device, and it's definitely easier then firing up the browser
and painfully navigating to our CI server.

------
rajpaul
That is a great video. Before watching it I didn't understand QR codes at all.

As a consumer, I've never used a QR code in my life. If companies reward users
for using QR codes with discounts, as the video suggests, I would use it.

Also, now I understand why a business would want to use QR codes. They help
the businesses to track the effectiveness of advertising.

~~~
teamlaft
Check out Social Passport (www.socialpassport.net) as it will be totally up
your alley. For consumers it creates a QR code which stores all of your social
networking information for instant scanning to Like, Tweet, or Checkin
somewhere, and then also serves as a digital loyalty card and e-coupon.
Merchants incentivize users to get their Social Passports scanned through
discounts, contests, and giveaways, and in return send a customized message to
a user's entire social network.

~~~
fleitz
What problem does this solve?

I've never been walking around thinking, "Man, you know what would be cool? If
a merchant could incentivize me right now. I wish my digital loyalty card also
had an e-coupon so I could checkin somewhere".

Change the pitch to: "Scan this for X free Airmiles" or "Download Social
Passport for X free airmiles."

Is it possible to design a QR code that looks like a plane taking off or
something?

Who the fuck even knows what a Digital Loyalty card is?

