“QR Codes are dead!” Um. Not so much.
Or – don’t believe everything you read. That includes me, I suppose 🙂
Why in the world am I saying QR Codes are alive and well? For starters, check these articles out:
- Twitter recently added QR Codes for discovery purposes.
- Facebook Messenger has QR Codes (or QR-Code-like scannable codes, anyway).
Snapchat has QR Codes – those Snapcodes are a type of QR Code (mine is included in this post – friend me!). Apparently, the Snapchat app’s camera is also a general QR Code reader. Who knew?- The new Pokemon Sun and Moon game? Yep – it incorporates QR Codes.
There are definitely other “currently in use” uses for QR Codes. Anyone ever use a smartphone app for your airplane ticket? See the blue image in this article? Yep … that’s a huge, nasty QR Code on an airplane ticket.
How about at conferences? ALA Midwinter attendees – take a peek at your exhibit hall badge in January. Most likely, it will have a QR Code on it.
So – are QR Codes dead? Very obviously NOT. Do they work for everything? Also, very obviously not. Anyone put a QR Code on your website, or on a business card (yep – I’m guilty of both)?
Anyone work hard in the early 2000’s adding QR Codes to your library catalog records? Yes – some libraries did that (I hear rumors that they’re still out there!). Probably not needed anymore (if they ever were) – because smartphones.
If QR Codes work for you and your organization, that’s great! If another older technology is still working … also great! No need to panic or change it or refresh it “just because.”
Instead, look around. Scan that technology horizon and see what’s out there, and what might help your organization meet its goals. Then jump if and when it makes sense.
Not because someone says “it’s dead, Jim.”
iOS airplane ticket image from TheNextWeb