QR Codes in silly placesI do endeavor to be semi on top of things, and upon occasion I get a well meaning request from a friend for technical help with something they are doing on their computer or online. But I am really not that great a tekkie. I can type; I rely on others for web design. 

I therefore did not really know what a QR code really was until this past week, after speaking about them with a smarter guy than myself, Stephen Fells, who writes code and does things on computers that would completely stump me. Simply put, a QR code (quick response code) creates a hyperlink of sorts on print material where a hyperlink would not otherwise be possible.

For example, if you have a printed brochure to a listing, you can put a QR code on it and if people have a device such as a cell phone with the right app to read the code, it will take them to the web page on the phone. This makes them great for print ads, signage, riders, and even business cards. The limitation, of course, is that you could also just print "www.jphilip.com" and people can just input the url in their phone to get there.

But it is faster, and I can see them in places where web-based advertising might not have been feasible before, such as men's rooms of restaurants and mass transit wall ads. You see it, you scan it, and you are dowloading their message instantly. 

Now, what I don't get is all the QR codes I am seeing on web pages and blogs, because people are already online, and the QR code is simply a hyperlink in print, so to speak. To link on a web page or blog, you just need to put in a link. To my understanding, putting a QR code on a web page is redundant. Yet I am seeing them everywhere- in footers, sidebars, and I think I spotted one in a header not long ago. Why? Where else will we see them popping up next? It seems like real estate people are so paranoid about being ahead of the curve that they jump on a trend they perceive as important without really thinking it through. 

They have their place, these QR codes. But I think the QR Code fever we are witnessing is a little bit of overkill.

 

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Star Posted by J Philip Faranda, Broker-Owner on 12/11/2010 10:49 PM   Comments (56)   QR Codes in the Technology and Tools Channel   qr codes  
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56 Comments on QR Code Overload

20 Most Recent Comments Displayed Show All

DEC
12
2010

I think that QR codes have their place and may help us as Realtors get leads and generate traffic off of Print Marketing that we may have lost in the past. However with any type of tool it can be too much and overkill so I guess we have to play the balancing act as we move forward with this new technology.
9:11pm • #37

Great Pic Philip....you so have a way of communicating your point!!
9:43pm • #38
160,156 Points 15 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I do wish they could build scribefire into their site, it is a pain to cut and paste, and its so many uneccesary steps (in my opinion)
9:56pm • #39
221,610 Points Outside Blog

I'm still wondering if the QR thing will blow up big.
10:06pm • #40
823,820 Points 155 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Hit Router Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

I've created them but haven't really put them to use yet.Sitting this one out a little while longer
10:16pm • #41
648,311 Points 63 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Like the others said - its more for smart phones.   IMO they are useful in marketing -  but you have to do more than just place them on your site.  I'm trying to figure out how to make better use of them in my general marketing plans.

It's also something that's going to resonate with Gen Y more than X or Boomers.
10:50pm • #42
620,125 Points 8 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Soon they will have the QR code tattoo on back of people's necks so that in case they forget their names, the police can just scan it and get all their information.
11:35pm • #43
DEC
13
2010
365,166 Points 6 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Totally with you on this JPF. I have a hard time imagining anyone grabbing their phone to scan their computer screen. Especially as usually it's not very clear what's in the coded message anyway.
12:57am • #44
796,026 Points 5 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Interesting that they probably won't ever put a QR code in the ladies rooms...
1:33am • #45
192,903 Points 1 Featured Post Attended Rain Camp

Look at it this way folks, imagine that you don't need to print and deliver any more listing sheets for your property. Buyers drive by and see your listing for sale. They pull out their smartphone, scan the QR code on your rider and voila! The entire property description along with your contact information is on the potential buyer's smartphone. Then with one finger they click on your phone number and connect with you... this whole process takes 2 seconds.

All you need to do is print one QR code rather than hundreds of listing sheets. Save time and money? Absolutely.

Ok, you run an ad somewhere. Scan QR code. Your business card is into my smartphone.

QR code is only one of 2 products, you need to check out Microsoft Tags for real estate.

Read up on it here:

http://tag.microsoft.com/business/real-estate.aspx

Impressive? YES! Do all new smartphones do QR codes and MS tags, yes.

Will that be in my client presentation about the many services I offer my clients? oh, yes.

 
2:45am • #46
1,421,366 Points 41 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Well, let me tell you how I used the QR code and was helpful

I was meeting with my investors to buy a flipper. .

we saw another vacant house for sale across the street, we went there and they wanted to know the price. .

I did not have my iPad with me at that moment and I was dreading going to the MLS using my cell phone with a little screen and little type keys. . but we had to know the price

The brochure of the house had a QR Code

I cranked my app. .took a picture, got a link. .touched the link and I was in a one page website about the property with price, schools, transportation and tax information.

QR codes was very helpful to me that day. .

But, what people seem to miss is that when you put a QR code in a WEB PAGE. . .YOU ARE BETTER OFF JUST PUT THE LINK!!

WEB PAGE . . put a link. ....clue: THEY ARE ALREADY IN THE INTERNET!!!

Anywhere else. .QR CODE

The picture you have of the urinal is actually not a bad idea. .for a QR Code

to sell.. condoms, sport tickets, dating sites . . 

If you have a QR reader on your pocket and using that urinal. . your curiosity will make you read the add.

(use the camera at your own risk when other people are urinating nearby!)
7:10am • #47
106,262 Points 1 Featured Post Called Shot Master

I only use QR codes on my laptop screen for one thing... to get a link to download an app for my smartphone.

Now, there's an idea... develop an app that uses your mobile site for info, then QR link it on your webpage. That seems like a legitimate reason to have one on the web...
11:11am • #48
DEC
14
2010
563,082 Points 10 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Philip, You are spot on...I finally figured out the same thing this week; I was so proud of myself that I went out and got a QR code and thought it through and wondered why you would want one of these things when you are on the web...why put it in your signature, when you already have a link to your website...

I think the QR code on a printed piece of material demonstrates a good use...and the urinal?  Well that's a create way of getting your name out there!
5:35am • #49

I Love your first sentence "semi on top of things". Thats me, I kinda get it. I agree that there seems little purpose to post these online but see some good comments about that use.
5:49am • #50
192,903 Points 1 Featured Post Attended Rain Camp

Case in point on this discussion. I received in the mail today a notice from my german car manufacturer on the extension of my car warranty. In that letter was a QR code with a reply request. So I was puzzled, I scanned the QR code with my Android QR Code Reader app. In one second, it told me (and the recipient of my reply card) who I was, my vehicle information, my client number, and the VIN number. I can only guess when they receive it back, they use a device and Bingo I'm in their system. You have to love this.
11:48am • #51
192,903 Points 1 Featured Post Attended Rain Camp

So, incidentally, I scanned your QR Code in your urinal (is business going down the toilet...?). And my Android took me to your web site. And all this time, I thought you were 'not' a techno-propeller head. Here I am preaching to the choir. Good trick you just pulled....
11:51am • #52
DEC
15
2010
285,100 Points 1 Featured Post Attended Rain Camp

The picture is hilarious! I LOVE QR codes, the advantage to using them is that I DON'T HAVE TO type a URL in, when I scan the QR code in, it is there automatically in my phone. Same for contact info, when I scan it and it comes up on my Droid, I can add it to contacts with one click, rather than typing it in. (Alright, I'm lazy),
3:46pm • #53
DEC
30
2010

Two bonus points for you on this blog:

  1. Loved the QR code in the urinal.  They wouldn't work as well in the ladies room in a bidet.
  2. QR codes on websites are redundant.  It is like putting a comment in old yellow page ads to look for their listing in the white pages (after they already saw your ad)!
Happy New Year from Boise, Idaho!
8:51pm • #54
JAN
14
2011

Just what we need, another gimmick. This gimmick is like the "talking house" where folks were suppose to pull up to a sign with their car radio tuned to a certain frequency to hear an audio presentation about the property. Somebody said they are free? The ads I am seeing is for $1 per code per month. Or the 1-888 Number where they could call and get information, but shied away from because a Realtor would be instantly calling them. Too many gimmicks.
Jim
7:22am • #55
MAR
03
2011
3 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

I think maybe this is a case of new technology that most people just haven'yet t figured out how to implement.

Putting a QR code on your webpage that points to that same webpage is indeed silly. Unless there is some SEO magic that I'm not aware of (and frankly is over my head at this point). But having the ability to, say, download interior photos of a home by scanning a code on the sign out front, would be an awesome feature.

I know there are services like Arch that will send that stuff to your phone when you text a code to a specific number. But that seems less anonymous to Joe and Jane Buyer, and they may be less inclined to do so.

Saw a story yesterday that mentioned growing numbers of cell phone users shifting to smart phones. Capturing the lead at the street or on the web is paramount today.
10:13am • #56

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