Jan
6
Written by:
Paul McLane
1/6/2012 8:12 AM
Will QR codes be “here today, gone today”? The IT coordinator at one U.S. radio group owner says the codes might be on their way out already, at least based on his experience. Larry Foltran is corporate website and information technology coordinator for Crawford Broadcasting. He writes in the company’s engineering newsletter: “All indications are there that the QR code is heading into its cyber sunset.”
Quick Response Codes are those graphics that can be read by a smartphone’s camera and link users to a website. As Foltran states, “In the most basic terms, it’s a barcode for the general population.” Although the codes only recently came into the public eye in some markets, they’ve actually been around since the 1990s.
But now Foltran writes that the codes haven’t caught on as he’d expected even a year ago.
“There is a good chance that they will slowly disappear. The primary reason is that most people don’t even know what they are. As I began rolling out QR codes for our company’s mobile sites to staff members, I found that people had seen other examples on printed materials, but had no idea what they were. Quite plainly, if you don’t know what it is … you most likely won’t use it.”
Also, he said, code readers are third-party applications. “Unless they are included as base functionality in new smartphones, many users simply won’t bother downloading and installing these apps.”
Foltran also says users have realized that a code typically points to an advertisement. “In most instances, users won’t even bother scanning them because they know they will be using their precious mobile data bandwidth to view an ad.”
And, he says, there are security implications. As RW too has reported, malware and security issues are expected to become bigger problems for smartphone users in future, Foltran wrote: “The direct content link provided by the QR code simply makes it too much of a risk.”
6 comment(s) so far...
Re: He’s Dubious About QR Codes
If everyone needed to understand--in advance--how to use a new technology, how could there ever be any new technologies?
QR codes (and similar technologies) face many huge obstacles to adoption, not least really poor execution. But the idea that something won't catch on because it is new and unfamiliar lacks merit both historically and intellectually.
Thank you,
Thomas
By Thomas Hansen on
1/6/2012 9:03 AM
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Re: He’s Dubious About QR Codes
QR codes are nothing more than a rehash of the CueCat. Remember that one and how well that went over?
QR codes are destined to the same fate.
By M Dinger on
1/6/2012 3:39 PM
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Re: He’s Dubious About QR Codes
I was thnking the same thing about the CueCat/QR comparison as you could zip thru the Radio Shack catalog with the CueCat for data. I believe that somebody figured out how to make these CC's work on regular bar codes too! It was originally a serial port device with a 3.5" floppy, then the big USB 1.0 upgrade Cue Cat!
By Thomas Alva on
1/6/2012 4:16 PM
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Re: He’s Dubious About QR Codes
In his article, Larry says that he has used QR codes to point to mobile websites. If he keeps doing that... good things will come.
I read an interesting article online from AdAge where Philip Warbasse, Founder of PRINT2D www.print2d.com and the designer behind HBO's QR code advertising is betting on this technology in a big way, investing heavily in mobile start-ups over the last 4 years.
Warbasse explains, "As long as there are handheld devices, there will be a need for some type of mobile trigger to access those devices whether it's a QR Code or some other type of gateway. The goal in 2012 is for advertisers to give consumers a good reason to scan codes and that starts with a successful mobile strategy." For a full explanation see - www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WkJwhLHugQ
The CueCat/QR comparison is not valid. The comparison should be made against smartphones and we all know that would be no contest. Smartphones make QR relevant and they will continue to. Now, advertisers who use them effectively can benefit by:
1.) Reaching a larger audience,
2.) Gaining more face-time with their audience,
3.) Measuring the effectiveness of the campaign,
4.) Pairing their offer with a call-to-action (the phone)... all in real time. This seems like a no-brainer to me. But, just as Chevron said in 1996 "we are thinking about getting on the World Wide Web," QR saturation will take time, no matter how great the technology and uses for it.
By Nancy on
1/7/2012 12:42 PM
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Re: He’s Dubious About QR Codes
Here's a good use for QR Codes:
whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/11/in-seoul-a-virtual-grocery-store-in-the-subway/
By Paul Sagi on
2/2/2012 9:16 AM
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Re: He’s Dubious About QR Codes
Call me Grandoa Ludd. QR and QS are dead but QS was groovy with a good spin.
The more big points you have to use to argue for something, the better a comparison can be made to Edsels.
By 10kc on
2/14/2012 11:00 AM
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