I must admit that I am not really sure what to think about QR codes. Are they are passing fad or are they just too much of a bother to read? Certainly they do provide opportunities in libraries for links to lots of other information e.g. on a membership card or in displays.
I have been experimenting with online tools for creating local history tours and maybe rather than doing a lot of writing for a stop a QR code linking back to where the data is would be enough. Or would this work? If you are doing a mobile tour on an app how do you go to another app to read the QR code? Am I missing something? However, the QR code I found above on interpretive signage on a walk in Virginia Beach, VA, shows a good use in local history. Minimal clear info can be provided on the board with links to more comprehensive info elsewhere, in this case a video about the history of the lighthouse.
QR codes do crop up in all sorts of places these days, although I think they are far from ubiquitous in Australia. The one above is my ticket to a film called Nina at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). The tickets for MIFF sessions on its app are all QR codes which are scanned for entry. Another use by a Councils can be found on the information board below where the City of Yarra directs people to more information about the temporary relocation of the Council Customer Service Centre.
I have a couple of different apps loaded on my iPhone for reading QR codes. One is called QR Reader and the other is the RedLaser app. These are pretty simple transactions and either work ok.
I have also been part of a Flickr group called QR codes in the wild for a while. I have illustrated this post with a couple of my contributions to that group. If you want to look at the variety of places people have found QR codes, go over to the group and have a look. I think I might has said once or twice before that I heart Flickr.
No comments:
Post a Comment