Newspapers promote QR codes, linking print and outdoor media to online, and building tighter social-mainstream media symbiosis

Resource: http://rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2008/07/newspapers_prom.html

Ross Dawson, July 4, 2008 7:35 PM US PT

QR code for this blog

The Sydney Morning Herald has recently had big features in its Saturday edition on QR codes, the 2-dimensional bar codes that act as visual URLs for mobile phones, taking them automatically to the linked online content. QR codes are massive in Japan, appearing in magazines, billboards, business cards, shop windows, T-shirts, and more, by dint of NTT DoCoMo’s promotion of the codes. One Japanese magazine consists entirely of free things you can download with QR codes. Now Australia’s Telstra is trying to do the same thing in Australia, shipping all of its NextG phones with the necessary software, and making it freely available to anyone else.

It is very interesting to see a newspaper so actively promote a mobile technology. The Sydney Morning Herald is introduced daily QR codes on page 2 from this Monday, providing a link to the five most popular stories in the paper and other content. This means that you can engage with the media cycle even while reading a print newspaper. I wrote over two years ago about how each story on the online version of the Washington Post was showing links to blog posts about that article. Now this kind of immediate reflection of social media views is available in the print world.

So far in the US there have just been tests of QR codes in San Francisco, providing links to Citysearch reviews of local restaurants and merchants.

While there are a number of competing standards for codes that will link mobiles to online content, QR codes are substantially in the lead, and look set to become an international standard. There is a good chance these could become commonplace globally within the next 1-2 years. What is most interesting is the innovative ways they are used, particularly within mainstream media (which can include television).

Fujitsu to test kid-tracking system using QR codes

Resource: http://www.engadget.com/2005/08/17/fujitsu-to-test-kid-tracking-system-using-qr-codes/

by Marc Perton, posted Aug 17th 2005 at 3:25PM

Lest you think RFID is the only technology being used in Japan to track kids, Fujitsu is testing a system that can store detailed data in QR Codes, eliminating the need for kids to wear or carry a digital device. The system works sort of like a CueCat for kids; if a child is lost, his QR Code can be read by an Internet-enabled scanner, which can automatically forward the child’s information to a specified server, which will in turn notify the parents. Unlike RFID, of course, there’s no active transmissions being sent by the child, but the QR-based system has the advantage of being cheap to implement. Of course, the same results could probably be achieved by having the child carry a wallet-sized card with his home address and phone number, or a camp-style tag sewn into a shirt. But, then, Fujitsu wouldn’t be able to sell any scanners, would they?

What is Skycode?

Skycode is one of QR code. The QR code is the most recent step in the evolution of the one-dimensional barcode (familiar to most consumers as a series of vertical lines) and was created by Japanese corporation Deso-Wave in 1994. Deso-Wave wanted to design a code that allowed its contents to be easily downloaded and at high speed.

Advertising billboards could provide direct links to additional information, such as where to buy a particular product. Now the QR code is even being used in airports. Skycode can be applied many applications and support the business growth.

Beside allowing the access and interaction with Mobile Websites, Skycode provides some features, such as access statistics, mobile directory, Mobile Website address modified easily.

Note:

If you need more detail, please check at http://www.mobileskynet.com

Pengantar Mobile Skynet

Saat ini hampir dapat dikatakan bahwa telah banyak orang yang mengetahui dan memanfaatkan Mobile Phone untuk akses informasi dan transaksi, tidak hanya sebagai alat komunikasi. Informasi yang berada dalam jaringan global Internet dapat diakses dengan mudah oleh Mobile Phone melalui browser.

Mobile Phone merupakan alat komunikasi dan juga informasi yang selalu berada di tangan pemiliknya, berbeda dengan notebook atau PC. Apa artinya? Jika seseorang yang mendapatkan alamat Internet perusahaan atau informasi tertentu, seharusnya pengguna Mobile Phone dapat mengakses informasi yang bersangkutan dengan mudah. Tetapi hasil tampilan informasinya tidak memuaskan, karena layout untuk layar Mobile Phone tentunya berbeda dengan layar PC ataupun Notebook. Sehingga perlu didisain ulang untuk keperluan tampilan di Mobile Phone. Itulah Mobile Website.

Mobile barcodes now speak to us – quite literally…

http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/index.php/digital_tokyo/articles/mobile_barcodes_now_speak_to_us_quite_literally/

Like many Far-Eastern technologies, Japan’s QR Code gets attention in the West more for being exotic than for any real benefit it brings, so we fully expect the latest all-singing version of the 2D barcode to follow suit.

Harrods embraces mobile barcodes

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3760049.ece

The Knightsbridge store will run a campaign featuring a technology which lets people interact with ads using their phones

Jonathan Richards

One hundred and ten years after it introduced the world’s first moving staircase, the department store Harrods is pioneering another technology: advertisements which talk to your mobile phone.

Mobile coupon and ticketing on the rise – study

http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=18378

A new study released by Juniper Research predicts that retailers will have issued almost three billion mobile coupons to customers by 2011, with just under $7 billion of discounts redeemed.

Juniper also predicts that mobile ticketing – where customers receive event tickets on their phones – will grow in popularity over the next few years, with 2.6 billion tickets worth $87 billion, delivered by 2011.

Growth in both areas will be driven by increasing use of near field communication (NFC) technology, says the report.