Tag Archives: QR

#QRCode – Property for Sale!

I’ve been really interested in QR codes lately and yesterday while walking down the road I saw a great use of this simple technology.

Everybody’s seen them boards telling you the property is up for sale or to let. Well in Sheffield a lot of landlords are signing contracts for the next academic year. Students want to be early and grab the best properties. And students, have smartphones. And smartphones scan QR codes! Owh yes, just thought it was really clever, so I took a photo of it.

 

 Owh and the photos were taken with my HTC HD7. Read about my month with it =)

 

Facebook – something useless, something cool?

Have you ever seen or come across any of Google’s so called ‘easter eggs’ or some may call it hoaxes. Well recently something similar has been floating around Facebook.

So one of your friends posts something like:

1. Copy this line @+[245771012146935:0]
2. Paste it as a comment below
3. Delete the “+” sign
4. Hit Enter and watch the magic..

And just like magic, it changes to ‘I’m an idiot xD’. No you did not type that yourself. Facebook changed it for you; to tell you what you are. =)

Well its simple. In reality it links to a page on Facebook called ‘I’m and idiot xD’. Pretty clever right? The more interesting thing is, that it doesn’t just link to that particular page. As some of you might notice that the string xyz in @[xyz:0] links to the page reference on Facebook. This is not just limited to Facebook pages but also works with groups/profiles (use the profile ID number not the name) and just about anything.

To try it out simple type @[put_your_ref_number_here:0] then hit Enter and boom it changes to a link to your specified group, page, profile, etc.

Now you could use this as a marketing thing to get people to your page. Combine it with a QR code or something similar, but I guess people would be reluctant to post a string from a QR code straight on to their Facebook status’ or any posts. The idea would be to have a QR which when scanned opens up the Facebook app on your phone and confirms if you’d like to post it as your status or if you’d like to visit the page. The possibilities are endless. A small string like that will work easier and better, as it will generate simpler QR codes, and because QR codes can still be scanned even with a 30% error in the QR graphic; a smaller string largely increases the chances of the QR being read quickly and easily. So something similar to the QR option of being able to send a text message, or opening your browser to take you to a specific URL, etc. can be implemented to do something similar. Of course you’d ask if URLs can already be implemented directly as QRs, why would you want a stupid string? Well for simplicity, and a reduction in error (I just told you QRs have an error tolerance of around 30%).

Interesting stuff, but useful?