I’m sure you’ve seen QR codes before. In fact, I am positive You like These little two-dimensional black and white codes are taking over. You can find them on posters, billboards, business cards, coffee mugs, mouse pads … You get the idea. They are everywhere!
These codes can be scanned by a smartphone, provided the owner of the phone has downloaded a QR “reader” or “scanner” from the Internet. These readers are available for free and can be added to an iPhone, Blackberry, or Android phone. Once downloaded, a user can quickly and easily hold their device with a QR code and “scan” it.
The ‘QR’ in the QR code is an abbreviation for “quick response” code. As the name implies, these codes offer a very “quick” response when scanned with a mobile phone. What is the answer, you ask? The great thing about QR codes is that the “answer” can be pretty much anything.
In essence, a quick response code is simply a barcode that encodes information. In this way, it can be compared to a hyperlink on the Internet. When the device scans the code, the phone’s browser will launch and transport the user to the landing page that was programmed into the QR code. Because landing pages can be programmed to be absolutely anything, QR codes are therefore incredibly versatile.
A quick response code can be compared to a vehicle and the landing page can be compared to the destination. If you’re traveling in a convertible Mustang, does that mean you’re automatically heading to Tallahassee? Of course not. It could go anywhere in North America. Similarly, quick response codes are not limited to reaching a destination. This makes them incredibly useful and innovative, because they are, to continue the analogy, very fast and effective vehicles.
Want some concrete examples of what QR codes can accomplish when programmed correctly? QR codes can:
Open a video
Collect contact information
Donation process
To make a phone call
View a map
Take part in a contest
Interact with social media sites
Coordinate a treasure hunt
And much more!
I could go on to hundreds of things that quick response codes can do, but I won’t waste your time. I think you get the basic idea: these codes can do anything that they are programmed to do. So if you can locate a mobile solutions company that can provide you with this technology, you can jump on the Quick Response bandwagon.