Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: July 17, 2012
Getting in touch with readers can be challenging. Once someone has read an article, book, or magazine, how can the author be sure they’ll remember the message? What if the publication advertises a larger business or campaign that requires further investigation? Even if the author includes a link or phone number, there is no guarantee the consumer will remember it long enough to actually seek that business out.
QR codes are a great way to encourage readers to follow through to that website, call the number provided, or view whatever other content the author chooses to share. The QR code might even urge the readers to interact with the article or participate in an activity set up by the author.
If an author chooses to link the QR code to an unchanging source, this is called static content. a static content QR code might be
QR codes also provide a fantastic way to expose readers to changing information, otherwise known as dynamic content. A QR code simply sends the user to whatever website is encoded in the image, meaning that the author of a QR code could easily change the content of that website at any time without needing to alter the QR code. An author might also use a service which allows the user to manage the dynamic content of a QR code without the hassle of maintaining and changing a website. Even a business with a static website can use a QR code to offer a giveaway, coupon deals, or other special incentives for scanning the code. Great uses for a dynamic content QR code include
Dynamic content is a big step in reader-writer communication, but one that could be achieved with a website as well. The most exciting new option with a QR code is an opportunity for direct, instantaneous interaction: now an author can link a QR code to a pre-addressed SMS message that the reader can fill out and send within seconds. This SMS campaign allows the author to send automated texts to the reader as long as the reader allows them. After the campaign has been established, the QR code works like this:
1) The reader scans the QR code
2) The code pulls up an SMS form on the reader’s screen with the “Send to” number already inserted.
3) The reader types a word into the text field and presses send. The author must include this word with the QR code wherever the code is printed, as the QR code cannot fill in the text of the message.
4) That word triggers a reply text which can include whatever information the author chooses, be it static or dynamic.
For more information on how to set up an SMS campaign, you can visit http://www.tatango.com/blog/sms-marketing-with-qr-codes/
The fewer steps it takes a reader to access a website the more likely they will take time out to visit it, and scanning a QR code requires significantly less effort than writing down a website to view later. However, an author should be aware that more readers will be inclined to scan a QR code if they get something out of the deal instead of simply being asked to sign up for an email list. Including an incentive like a special offer is the key to making the QR code with scanning.
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: March 7, 2012
A QR-code dog tag has laser etched QR-code on one side. When a smartphone scans the QR-code, it displays the pet owner’s contact information. If the smartphone is GPS-enabled, then the pet’s owner is alerted by text message the location at which the QR-code pet tag was scanned. This article describes how to make a QR-code pet tag, where to buy a QR-coded pet tag with hosting service, and how QR-code pet tags compare to a pet microchip. |
Finally, Fido has his own mobile-friendly web page!
A QR-code enabled dog tag works this way: The dog tag includes a durable, laser engraved QR-code on one side. When the pet’s QR-code is scanned by a scanning application on an iPhone, Android phone, or any smartphone, a mobile friendly web page is displayed with the owner’s contact information. The site may also contain any special handing or medical information for the pet. If the smartphone used to scan the code is GPS enabled then the pet’s owner is immediately alerted by text message of the geographic location where the QR-code was scanned.
QR-code pet tags are a great idea, but remember that any pet tag should include the pet’s name, the owner’s name, and a contact telephone number in human readable text because not everyone knows how to scan a QR-code
Pet Microchips: As an alternative or enhancement to a QR-code pet tag, pet microchips are described at the end of this post. Listed below are the advantages of using a pet microchip implant instead of a QR-code pet tag
You can use any QR-code Generator to create free QR-code artwork for a pet tag. When you generate a QR-code for a pet tag, you can choose between QR-code content that requires an Internet connection, QR-code content that doesn’t require an internet connection. Most consumer QR-codes displayed in magazines or on signs require an internet connection because they link to Internet websites. However, you can generate a text or vCard QR-code that contains contact information or text which doesn’t require an internet connection. The disadvantage of the text or vCard choice is that the pet owner has no way of knowing when a non-internet QR-code is scanned.
QR-code style: WebPage URL — Use this style to generate a pet tag QR-code that links to a simple web page you create on your host (or a URL that links to one of the pet registration services listed in the next section). Remember, if you make a simple pet web page, it doesn’t need much information beyond the owner’s contact information and special instructions. Any tag with a QR-code should also include a short text version of the target URL so that people who have access to the Internet but don’t know how to scan a QR-code can still access your pet’s web page. Tip: Use a URL redirector or shortener to make the text version of the URL easier to fit on a pet tag and so that the QR-code is less visually complex and more readable.
QR-code style: vCard or Text — Use either of these styles to generate a pet tag QR-code that doesn’t require an internet connection because the information is completely contained in the QR-code. When you select vCard or text as a QR-code style, the QR-code generator form will display appropriate fields for the text to be contained in the QR-code.
Once you’ve created your QR-code image, you can upload the image to the DogTagArt website where a durable pet tag will be manufactured and mailed to you. When you receive the pet tag, be sure to confirm it works properly with your smartphone scanner app before placing it on your pet.
QR-code Pet Tag retailers:
QR-code Pet Tag Online Pet Registration: Both companies provides a unique website for the pet that is displayed when the pet’s QR-code tag is scanned.
Pet microchips are not much larger than a grain of rice and can be gently inserted under the skin of dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and other pets. Each pet microchip has a unique number, and this number is matched to an online database that includes the name and contact information of a pet’s owner. Some cities, such as El Paso, Texas, have begun requiring owners to microchip dogs, cats and ferrets [source: City of El Paso, Texas]. In the U.S. about 130 million dogs and cats (about 5% of the U.S. pet population) are microchipped [source: Springen, USDA]. Pet microchips are much more popular in Europe where about a quarter of all pets have microchips.
Estimated Cost to Microchip a Dog [Source: Yahoo Answers]: Between $10 and $100 to insert the pet’s microchip and register the pet in an online database.
How to find a local Dog Microchip service: Use Google to search for “Pet Microchips” in your city. For example, search for “Pet Microchips Boulder CO” or “Pet Microchips Chicago IL” Most veterinarians will microchip your pet, but you may find lower prices for microchipping your pet at your local humane society or pet shelter.
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: February 21, 2012
QR codes can be produced as both temporary tattoos and permanent tattoos.
Click here for related articles about QR Code Tattoos
A QR code tattoo is not really much different from any other tattoo. You’ll need a skilled tattoo artist with an accurate hand. Some QR codes have error correction rates that will allow the tattoo artist to be off on the design by up to 30%, but still produce a readable QR-code. The average price an experienced tattoo artist charges is about $75-$150 per hour depending on your region of the country. The best way to get an accurate quote is to bring a sample of the QR code to the tattoo shops you’re considering and ask for a quote. Remember, the more data contained in the code, the more complex is the QR code, which may make it more difficult to read and more difficult for the tattoo artist to render.
The QR code below included something that is sometimes forgotten: a verbose link to the domain. It also probably got something wrong: the QR code probably contained too much data making the QR code complex and more difficult to scan.
The list above are all the different categories of QR-code content. The top three , If you don’t want to deal with maintaining a website, the first three QR Code Styles are your best choices for a tattoo. Text, contact information, calendar entry, display information directly on a mobile device, but don’t require Internet connection and don’t depend on content from a website. Although you can store up to 2,000+ characters in a QR-code, remember that the more data a QR code has, the more dots it will have (and the larger it may need to be), so don’t plan on a “War and Peace” tattoo unless you’re tattooing your entire back and your artist is on retainer.
The vCard contact information format has been around for a decade and will probably be around for decades to come. Some people have gotten QR-Code tattoos that contain vCard contact information. A business card has always worked for me, but sometimes I run out.
Most marketing QR codes are encoded to display content at a website such as text, images, audio, and video. The good news is that if a QR-code tattoo contains web page content, it can always be changed. That is, when you’re no longer with “Winona Forever,” you can easily redirect the QR code landing page to “Wino Forever.” Remember that if you encode a URL in the QR-code tattoo you might want to be sure to pay your domain registration fees 84 years in advance. It would be rather unfortunate if a domain squatter grabbed your QR Code tattoo target URL and redirected you tattoo to some notorious sex website.
Presumably, a tattoo will last for your lifetime. Can we say the same about QR-codes and the URL’s to which they point? While QR codes are an emerging technology that hasn’t yet reached a peak, QR-codes are almost certainly to be replaced by some other technology in a human lifetime. Do you remember film cameras? Floppy discs? Wired telephones? Buggy whips? I suppose when QR-codes are a lesson in the history books, you can have laser removal and folks will just mistake your former QR-code tattoo for a bad rash. But I digress.
Well, if you’re going to do it anyway, you might want to consider QR code “light”: a micro QR code tattoo.
Or a temporary stick-on QR code tattoo: Click here for related articles about QR Code Tattoos
Search term: Laser Tattoo Removal
Use the form below to see what can be encoded in a QR code.
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: February 20, 2012
Summary: QR codes can be produced as both temporary tattoos and permanent tattoos. Here’s how. |
Click here for related articles about QR Code Tattoos
In Spring 2010, Dave’s Bread of Seattle gave away free QR Code Temporary tattoos to attendees that when applied to skin can be snapped with a smartphone’s camera to reveal that they won a tee shirt, a baked good, or a grand prize bag.
An important lesson about the QR Code Temporary tattoo is that it had a “Call to Action.” That is, the promise of a prize compelled the recipients of the temporary tattoo decals to apply them — and for others to scan them. Marketers must give prospects a good reason to scan a QR code.
Remember the demographics of your prospects. A QR-code promotion will work well for prospects with smartphones and QR code scanner apps, but won’t work well for a prospects that use phones exclusively for phone calls.
Most simply, you can create temporary tattoos with inkjet tattoo paper and an inkjet printer. The regular QC code rules apply: the QR code must be large enough so that it can be scanned with a smartphone that is positioned several inches away. The QR code can be color, but the pixels (dots) must have contrast with the QR code background. An 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of inkjet tattoo paper sells for about five dollars and you can print 40 to 60 QR Code tattoos per sheet. Temporary tattoo Search Term: Inkjet Tattoo Paper
Bulk QR code temporary tattoos can be purchased on the Internet and cost from 3-cents to 50-cents each depending on the size and quantity you buy. Search term: custom temporary tattoos
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: February 18, 2012
Summary: How an advertising agency used QR codes on animal stickers in public places to introduce people to new bands and music (Leo Burnett Agency, Hidden Sounds) |
The Leo Burnett Advertising Agency created a ‘Hidden Sounds’ QR Code campaign promoting 14 indie bands for Zoo Records, an alternative music store in Hong Kong. The purpose was to break the monopoly of big music and introduce the public to indie bands. They created stickers that were shaped like animals having QR Codes all over them. Scanning the various QR codes printed on each animal allowed users to hear the band, read more about them, share them on social media and buy music directly. read more information about a band and hear their music. They could also purchase the songs directly as well as share them on social media. The QR code campaign was considered a success as judged by the volume of sharing on blogs and social networks and half of the 14 bands sold out their albums within the first week.
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: February 18, 2012
Summary: The gravestone for a murder victim includes a QR code that can be scanned for information and photos about the murder victim and contact information for the Sheriff’s office. |
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In Fond Du Lack County, Wisconsin, Some families are using QR codes in headstones to extend the remembrance of a loved one. In this case detectives have incorporated a QR code into the headstone of a young woman to help cultivate tips about her murder.
The headstone includes an image of the unknown woman and a QR code. When someone scans the QR code on the marker, a site is displayed on their smartphone that contains information about the woman and contact information for the Sheriff’s office.
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: July 22, 2011
Summary: How to use QR codes on gravestones or headstone according to Medical Technology executive, Yoav Medan. He attached a QR code to his mother’s grave in Haifa, Israel. |
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Medical Technology executive, Yoav Medan, said “I [didn’t] know what we wanted to write [on my mother’s tombstone] and it will never be everything for everyone. By having something that is dynamic and can extend over time, we can capture it,”
Over time, Medan hopes the QR code and memorial site will help create a lasting history of his mother that will live on for generations. “I was most concerned about 20 or 40 years from now, how will she be remembered … [I wanted to put] what’s in our memory into a place that doesn’t forget… The guy who built the tombstone, he wants to make a business out of it,” said Medan.
“People identify with this way of keeping the memory of someone and actually making it dynamic and evolving with time as you remember more,” he said.
Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: July 15, 2011
Summary: How to add a QR code to a grave as described by a Memorial stone maker in Japan. |
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Posted by: Chuck Eglinton on: January 23, 2011
Summary: How to use QR Code Calibration for ‘Mobile Augmented Reality’ to calibrate the location of mobile devices when GPS isn’t available. Designed by a A Kyushu University student. |
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QR code calibration could be used by a museum wanting to provide QR code augmented video to visitors when they view objects on their smart phone screens. Or it could be used by tour agencies to provided augmented video to visitors on tours. QR code calibration is most useful if the mobile device doesn’t have built in GPS. Also, QR code calibration is useful when GPS location is inaccurate or is out of range of GPS transmitters. QR code calibration for mobile augmented reality was demonstrated in a graduate project by a Kyushu University student in 2011.