Part of what we try do here is educate and clear up any confusion around the mobile barcode space.  One big misunderstanding is the difference between QR Codes and 2D barcodes.  Often times, people use them interchangeably which is making a lot of people pretty confused.  While some may say its semantics, it’s really important at this stage in the technology to be educated around what is what.

2-D, or two-dimensional barcodes are really any geometric pattern of images or modules that can be read by an optical scanner.  Under that category, there is a wide variety of different code formats or symbologies. (more…)

Mobile Marketer has a good post on a study from the Audit Bureau of Circulations which covers how the publishing industry is embracing the mobile device.  It talks about how improvements in smart phone hardware and network speeds have made the consumer experience more rewarding.

“Smartphones make for a more satisfying reader experience, and these devices are more prevalent than ever,” said Neal Lulofs, senior vice president of communications and strategic planning at the Audit Bureau of Circulations, Schaumburg, IL.

“On the publishing side, mobile is part of a natural progression of news delivery that for several years has been evolving from print-only to multiplatform (print, online, PC, mobile and etcetera),” he said. “News consumption is also an obvious and valued way for consumers to use their devices with high frequency.”

Some key stats:

• More than 80 percent of newspaper and magazine respondents believe people will rely more heavily on mobile devices as a primary information source in the next three years. (more…)

We are often asked for the best way to use 2D barcodes.  While this is an understandable question, the real answer is whatever is going to solve a need for you or your business.  Over time, this technology will connect people from anything physical to additional digital information or content.  Therefore, the applications are limitless.

For marketing purposes, people will eventually just scan a product or an add to get more information.  But this is new technology, and the best way to see results is to deliver something of real value.  That could be a discount, exclusive content (video or downloads), or a chance to win something great.

A few new projects have launched which deliver on the last area – a chance to win.  Using a code to enter a sweepstakes is pretty compelling because someone can enter their email or phone number very easily on a mobile phone, so they don’t have to run back to a PC or hope they remember the URL later.  They just scan and enter. (more…)

The Danish Rail system is now using ScanLife to create what some are calling “the interactive news stand.”   They have placed posters and window clings throughout the S-Train system in Copenhagen with a series of EZcodes from major media providers and brands.

Commuters can scan a code to instantly see the latest news from Politiken, get sports scores from sporten.dk, or see the most popular videos of the day from YouTube.  The S-Train system is also giving people a chance to win free passes when they scan a code.

(more…)

Metro News, Canada’s largest free daily newspaper with over a million daily readers, started using ScanLife this week to link people directly to digital content on their camera phone.  EZcodes are placed in each section of the paper including World News, Recipes, and Sports to link to updated editorial from their new mobile site (m.metronews.ca).

(more…)

The first real topic we thought we would cover is the what and why of 2D barcodes.  Like any new technology, adoption is driven by the user – what will this do for me to make my life easier or better?  So, we’re going to start with a focus on the user and get to the “code publisher” or the business later.

We first need to generally define a 2D barcode since we often forget many people are starting from square one.

(more…)

Welcome to our first ScanLife post!  We have a lot that we plan to cover including tips to using 2D codes, new code projects from around the world,  ScanLife feature announcements, and more.

This is a very fast-moving and sometimes misunderstood space, but we will try to make it plain and simple because that’s what makes it so great.

We ask that all of you add your feedback and knowledge for the benefit of the community, but please keep it friendly!

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