Alright, they gave me caffeine and I’m all good now. Apparently I get a little dodgy without it. This weeks post is a little more normal and far less entertaining.

1.Brought to you by Toyota!

The QR code was created by Denso Wave ( a division of Toyota) to help the manufacturer track production of its cars on their assembly line.

 2.Wait, the world owes you how much?

Although they have chosen not to exercise their rights, the design and capture software is copyrighted by Denso Wave. Generous folks over there!

3.Gender bias….

QR codes are more likely to be scanned by women than men! Nice little piece of information when building a mobile site. In fact they are most often scanned by women in the 35-44 yr old category. Don’t they make the most buying decisions too? Hmmmm…….

4.Multi-tasker extraordinaire

Although they are traditionally used to drive someone to a url, they can also be used to:

• Send a Text Message
• Dial a phone number
• Mark an event in your smartphone calendar
• Populate a contact in your phone
• Open up a map coordinate
• Tweet on Twitter
• Create a new Blackberry IM contact
• Log you into a wi-fi network (great on a counter card for your customers)
• Create a free form text document

5.Still growing…and growing

Most tracking services have reported a growth rate in 2011 that is somewhere in the 800-1000% growth range.  Fight it all you want, they are rapidly becoming a fact of life.

6.Show me the money!

Most scanners are expecting two things when they scan:  Mobile content and an offer or discount. Just putting one on your material isn’t enough. Take the time to consider your audience and your goals when developing them. Then consider how to keep the message mobile and compelling (quick hint- Alphagraphics of Carrollton would love to help you do this!)

7.Cheap, cheap, cheap….

Most QR generators are free to use. Most QR readers are free to download.  If you want us to create one for you and add it to your print material, we charge only for the time to design and test the QR code. Not a bad deal at all to increase your reach!

8.Can I get a lift-kit for that?

They can be customized by adding colors and images. This costs a bit more to test and develop, but if you google “custom QR codes” you can get some pretty cool ideas of what can be done.

9.Transformers, more than meets the eye

Because of their simplicity and the way that they access your mobile device’s operating system. They can be manipulated to access even more features as they are developed. Starbuck’s even has a “Pay by QR” program that was successfully tested.

10.“Look boss, de plane! De plane!”

You’ll just need to scan (or click) the QR Code below and watch to understand the pun. Go to about 1m 57secs in the video if you just want to see the cool part. Granted, this is over the top, but incredibly unique nonetheless!