Mayor Bloomberg plans to have QR codes implemented onto all building permits within the next two years. These QR codes are planned to provide people with details about ongoing projects, allow them to read complaints and violations related to the location and even post complaints of their own. We see businesses using QR codes all the time but it’s a rare site to see the government using them for anything.
We’ve seen some innovative uses of QR codes this past year but with little convergence amongst the masses. Let’s hope the people of New York are more apt to participate. We think they will. We know we will!
Since the days of Zach Morris on Saved By The Bell mobile phones have been the lifeblood of our existence. Back in the day if you wanted to meet a friend for lunch you would simply pick up your brick-sized phone and dial. Yup, phones were used for one thing… phone calls.
My, how things have changed. Fast forward to present day and it’s almost unheard of to make calls on your mobile phone. For many individuals the thought of talking on a mobile phone is second to texting or surfing the world wide web.
The advancement of mobile technology has given rise to an all new consumer. Today’s consumer now shops, plays games, and even snaps QR codes with their mobile devices. And, now this new consumer does not even need a phone carrier, or a phone for the matter. Line2, a recently updated iPhone application, gives a user the ability to make unlimited phone calls and text using Wi-Fi. On top of that, the application also turns any iPod Touch into an iPhone. Read the full Line2 review from David Pogue, The New York Times Tech. Columnist.
For those of you that don’t know QR codes are barcodes that can be scanned using mobile phones and are encoded with information that take the form of text, URL, or other data. QR codes have been running rampant over in Asia for years but for some reason Americans are slow to embrace this type of technology.
We understand most Americans still do not own smartphones, and even those that do don’t necessarily know what a QR code is or have the necessary scanning software to read it but why don’t more companies choose to utilize QR codes? It’s relatively easy to set up and the price of entry is low. Calvin Klein recently pulled off a billboard promotion using a giant QR code with the message, “Get It Uncensored”. When scanned you are taken to a provocative new ad featuring the official premiere of Calvin Klein Jeans’s Fall 2010 advertising campaign. Not the best of execution but a good step in the right direction.
