We R Living In A Scannable World...

U know U want 2!

..and I am just a "scannable" girl.  When I finally became eligible - sort of - to upgrade my phone, I KNEW I wanted a smartphone and couldn't wait any longer for the iPhone to come to Verizon.  I was fine with that decision, given that I consider myself a Google-phile so getting an Android-enabled phone was naturally comfortable for me.

What is funny, is my #2 reason for wanting a smartphone.
The first time I heard of the QR code I was hooked.  The limitless possibilities of this little work of techno-art were very clear to me.  I felt like I was suddenly seeing them everywhere.  I had smartphone envy every time I saw one that I couldn't scan.  When I got my Droid2, the first app that I installed, at the recommendation of Consumer Reports, was the Barcode Scanner by ZXing Team.

NOW I WAS READY TO ROCK & ROLL & SCAN!  Of course, now I couldn't find a code to scan if my life depended on it. Every time I was in the doctor's office and reading a magazine article that was interrupted by the doctor's call of "next", I thought to myself how nice it would be if there were a code on the bottom of the page so I could just scan it and read the article later rather than taking the magazine and denying some other "Pass Along Reader" their opportunity to read this magazine.

For all of you PRINT advertisers, the QR code would be perfect for ALL of your print campaigns....Why? Well most of my exposure to print advertising - yes I do still read from actual paper - tends to happen on the run OR perhaps I am reading an article and don't want to stop to write down your web address or some other reason like that. If I could just scan your code...at my leisure, I would be able to access whatever it was you were trying to sell to me.  I might actually buy it.  Right now I have to give a HUGE shoutout to TAG Heuer.  They included a QR code in their print ad on the back cover of Fast Company - March 2011.  I was elated for the mere ability to have something to scan as my app was getting dusty...I might actually consider buying a TAG Heuer watch...just because.

I know that QR codes will catch on and as with most social media, it will likely be adopted by those who don't really benefit from it or just use it in the most inappropriate or annoying ways. Those who could totally benefit from it will likely never even touch them with a 10 foot beam of light. Since I don't want my QR Scanner to get dusty, I have my own QR codes and most likely fall into that first group of first-adopters...but until more advertisers and publications start using them, I am forced to create my own sources for exercising my scanner.