The City of Manor, Texas recently received a Web and technology Gov 2.0 make-over. Dustin Haisler, Assistant City Manager and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the city provides a mini case study of all the innovations the city has integrated into its programs and services. All of the innovations aim to make the city more transparent, collaborative and participatory, but what caught my attention was the application of QR codes.
The City of Manor developed and launched a QR program providing “physical hyperlinks” from 35 points-of-interest around the community. The price? Free (except for printing).
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEXXGOLFdXU&feature=player_embedded
QR-codes are multi-dimensional barcodes that can be read by barcode scanner applications (such as Google Goggles) that are available on most newer smartphones or that can be downloaded. The great potential? URLs can be embedded into QR Codes, for free and in less than 60 seconds! QR Codes, also referred to as paper-based hyperlinks, tie real-world objects to online content and can be located anywhere–on receipts, signs, advertisements, business cards, products, even Times Square–the list goes on.
QR stands for “quick response,” so that when a person comes across one, he or she can scan the barcode with his or her phone and be linked to more information through just a click of a button. For more information, SearchEngineLand lists a number of QR codes generators, readers, uses and over 15 organizations who have used QR codes including The Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). NTEN used QR codes to conduct a scavenger hunt at the recent NTEN conference.
Additional examples of QR Codes making a low cost, impact:
Before we get too excited, there are still questions I would love to have us answer:
With Smartphones having a 21% share of American subscribers, you may want to think twice about if a QR Code program is right for you. However, with Nielsen predicting that 1 in 2 Americans will have a Smartphone by the end of 2011, the potential for high impact is there.
And for now, that may be all you need to know. If you are going about a QR Code program or know of research around these types of programs, please share it with us in the comments. Otherwise, what questions do you have around QR Codes? What am I missing?
flickr credit for photo: scott_bl8ke
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