QR codes seem to be popping up everywhere and you may have seen some of them – these small black and white boxes that you can scan using a QR reader on your mobile phone.
[QR code for Wikipedia piece on QR Codes, created using goo.gl]
QR stands for ‘Quick Response’: when you scan them they convey information, often a website address, as an alternative to entering it manually.
The technology behind these seems amazing. Originating in Japan where they are used extensively they are becoming more commonplace in the UK.
In practice, I’m not yet convinced about how easy they are to use and also how convenient compared to other ways of getting to information.
Not all QR codes are created equal
Using QR codes on my iPhone I’ve come across some codes that work and some that don’t. This is frustrating and means that I’m left thinking it’s unreliable to scan a QR code when it’s offered.
For example, I’ve had the experience of scanning a QR code on my iPhone which didn’t take me to a website as it was supposed to do – instead I had a text link for a website – which was inactive. Other people using different mobile phones were able to scan the same code and get to the website address directly.
QR code generators, it turns out, need to be chosen carefully when codes are created – they can and should work across all devices.
Scanning
To get to the QR reader on my iPhone, I need to flip through several pages to find the right app. Once opened, the app displays the view from the phone’s camera, overlaid with a box to indicate the scanning area. Positioning the phone to view and scan the code gets easier with practice, but can be fiddly.
I use QR Reader – but I had to find and download this app – it would also be good to have a QR scanner included as one of the built-in apps – again across all platforms.
I’m also not keen on flipping through several pages on my iPhone to get to the QR reader app – okay I could have this appear earlier - but at the moment I’m not using it enough to warrant that.
How about if this could be integrated into an existing app, such as the camera?
Scan or search?
I work in a university setting where QR codes are starting to be used as part of marketing materials and appear on brochures, leaflets and pull-up banners.
Would I scan a QR code in preference to using a search engine? Currently, my preference is to search – for the things I’m looking for it often seems more convenient. Usually, where a QR code is included the website address also appears on the same material. As things stand, it can be quicker and easier to type in the web address on my iPhone rather than going through the steps involved in scanning.
Where I’ve found that I have made the effort to scan is where the QR code is linked into some offer or promotional benefit. Even then, if it’s taken too long, I’ve given up using the QR code thinking that I might check out the website later for any offers that I’m particularly keen to make the most of.
On Twitter, I think it could make a difference to scan a QR code which would take you to someone’s Twitter address – partly because in my experience it’s not as easy to search for some names on Twitter as it is on a web search.
QR codes as badges
Does the appearance of a QR code on its own convey being up-to-date – whether it ever gets used at all? Anecdotally, a few people have said that they think it can make a difference to prospective students to have a QR code appear on promotional literature – ‘we’re modern’.
I like the idea of QR codes and using them initially enjoyed the feeling of zapping a code with the red line that appears on the QR reader and the way in which the ‘picture’ becomes active by taking you directly to some other place, such as a web address.
At the moment, there still seems to be a few too many steps to make using QR codes quick and easy. I’d like to see more being made of this wonderful technology.
A couple of links which may be of interest:
http://www.whatisaqrcode.co.uk – a straighforward explanation about QR codes
Why QR Codes Don’t Work, Alex Kutsishin, 8 March 2012, guest post: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/08/03/why-qr-codes-dont-work/
Create your own QR code using Google’s url shortener (click on ‘Details’ to get the QR code image): http://goo.gl