QR codes are prolific but it doesn’t seem as though people are actually using them, or convinced by their value. I like them but I can understand that agnosticism because they seem to be added for the sake of it rather than because they add any value for the person doing the scanning.
The code on this post is just like that but it was two things I saw today that prompted me to write this. Firstly, via the quite excellent WTFQRcodes.com the ludicrous concept of the ‘SafetyTat’ for paranoid parents everywhere. And secondly a colleague returning from an event this morning clutching a flyer with QR code present and correct.
That flyer typifies a lazy use of QR codes that really annoys me and feeds the general ‘mehness’ towards them. All it does is duplicate the link to the website that was printed next to it and that seems to be the most common usage – so when you’re out and about, rather than having to remember a URL until later, you can whip quickly scan the code and you’re away. But when all that does is take you to the same thing that you’d see at your computer that’s a wasted opportunity. And if your website isn’t mobile friendly (the one on the flyer isn’t) then it results in a negative experience that adds no value, at all, to the person doing the scanning and makes it increasingly unlikely that anybody would scan a QR code again.
I’m not sure of a better mechanism for linking someone in the street with the digital part of something they’ve encountered. But that appreciation for them is closely linked to how they’re used. Unless it offers something specific and useful that makes sense of being handheld it is nothing more than a waste of space.
Here are 8 things that have occurred to me when I’ve seen them used, read stories about them, or come across them myself.
Selling stuff
If I see something specific being advertised with a QR code then I’m expecting to be taken straight to the item in your (mobile-friendly) store. But it needs to be easy for me to buy it if I’m on a phone – so I want payment options that don’t need me to faff about with my wallet to find my credit card details. If you don’t have a mobile store then maybe all the QR code needs to do is locate me in relation to the nearest store where I can pick it up and tell me whether it’s in stock at that moment. A quick scan, a short walk and I can own it (or save myself the frustration of not being able to get it).
What’s on
If I see an event, or a programme of events being advertised then I want to access a tailored mobile page giving me time, date, location and contact details in such a way that they can be saved to my phone. If it’s ticketed then I also want to be able to buy/reserve tickets on the spot.
About me
QR codes can contain A Lot of information. You can store vCards as QR codes so they do make sense on business cards and adverts where contact details are important. The beauty of it being a vCard is that when your phone scans it then it drops name, phone number, email address, address and anything else that’s been included straight into my contacts.
Subscribed for later
If I’m seeing something advertised that’s not product or event specific then you’re wanting to raise brand awareness and capture my interest for the future. Maybe this is beyond the remit of a QR code but it would be good to scan that and arrive at a contacts mini-site where I can subscribe to emails or do a Facebook like and a Twitter follow without having to go off and search for you on each of those platforms. There are now ways of liking and following without disrupting the browsing experience, can QR codes provide a pathway to something that uses the apps on our phones so we can do that on the move?
For the locals
There’s been some thought, and experimentation about whether local government can use QR codes to help deliver services. Two years ago Sarah Lay wrote about putting them on grit bins in Derbyshire and along with things like lamp posts they would make it possible to log an issue with that specific item straight away instead of pinning it on a map or describing its location. In West Yorkshire, Metro are sticking them on bus stops to give specific timetables. But of course, both cases really rely on getting their websites right in the first place (and when it comes to buses I think it better for councils to focus on having something as good as Shropshire’s bus timetables before getting distracted by sticking QR codes everywhere).
And those from out of town?
What role could QR codes play in helping to locate a visitor in a new and unfamiliar place? Step off a train or a bus and there’s usually a tourist information map nearby, adding QR codes wouldn’t be to show your location (because if you can QR then you’ll have maps) but to access content about the sites of interest they list – opening times, ticket prices, directions, special offers and exhibitions. Can QR point towards specific places that combine static and unchanging content alongside opportunities for real-time updates and flexible marketing.
Yesterday, today
Whenever we’re stumped by a question or curious about the history of something it’s becoming a reflex to check Wikipedia for a quick insight. The internet can give historical context to almost anything and in Birmingham the Civic Society are reported to be investigating how to use QR codes alongside blue plaques to connect a physical reference to someone with the story of their life (and this use of Wikipedia is something the QRpedia project is supporting in a variety of different contexts).
A digital ‘PTO’
But it’s not just history that can be found on the internet. The scope for being able to turn over the page and find out more and varied information about something is almost limitless. Hull has been celebrating the life and work of Philip Larkin and in honour of his poem ‘Toads’ there was a Toad Trail around the city. It was an incredible success in its own right but it sparks some thoughts about how QR might have added to the experience. Could they have connected those who came to see the toads more with Philip Larkin himself and his poetry? Could they have given a greater profile to the artist responsible for designing each toad? Could they have signposted people towards nearby businesses/attractions and offered specific special offers? Could they have turned the visit into a shared experience through checking in on the route, sharing their thoughts about each Toad or sharing their pictures (perhaps as simple as pointing to a Facebook page for each toad, in the mould of Dan Slee’s plea for many, not few).
In all these situations what is the desired interaction from having a QR code? If it’s only so people come to your website then the bare minimum of thought has to be about what content looks like on a tiny screen but life should be about more than bare minimums so it’s a shame we don’t see more inventive efforts at linking the physical and virtual. The question of how best to do that hasn’t yet been answered but it’s not going to go away. Maybe NFC, Blippar or Microsoft’s Tag barcodes will crack it but I’d be disappointed if QR codes fell out of favour before we could honestly say that we’d got to grips with their potential.
Have you seen any ludicrous examples of QR codes (that haven’t already made it onto wtfQRcodes.com)? Or have you seen QR codes used in a way that makes sense of their format rather than just tacked on the end? It will be interesting to see what the future holds in terms of the interconnectedness of all things.