(Note: The following is an article I wrote for The Official Myxer Blog. As author of the post, I have graciously given myself permission to re-post it here...)
It turns out Da Vinci isn’t the only one who can get a bunch of people worked up about a code. For many years now the Mobile Industry has been excited by the prospect of using barcodes to connect the real world with the virtual world. I know this firsthand as back in 1998/99 I was co-founder of a company called BarPoint.com, and our entire business was built around the concept of entering or scanning a barcode on your phone and instantly getting back product specific search results and comparison shopping information. Can you say “ahead of our time”?
That Was Then, This Is Now
Flash forward to 2010 and the age of the Smartphone. Thanks to the proliferation of cameras in every phone the idea of scanning a barcode from your phone is becoming more and more common. There are now a number of companies and apps cleverly and creatively using barcodes to extend and simplify the process of accessing mobile content and interacting with physical media to trigger actions on your phone. It gives a new meaning to “point and click!” One of the the barcode formats growing in popularity is the QR Code (or “Quick Response” Code), the funny looking box above and below that you are starting to see cropping up in more and more places, from billboards in Times Square, to the backs of business cards.
The QR MyxerCode
A QR code can include an embedded link, and the software that your cameraphone uses to read the code can launch your browser and take you right to that link with a single click. It is EASY and Myxer likes EASY, so we have now added a unique QR Code for virtually every item, Artist and Content Partner on Myxer – over 5 million unique QR Codes! If you are downloading content from Myxer.com you can simply point your scanning ready phone’s camera at the QR Code on any item or artist page and get the link right to the mobile download on your phone. If you have a smartphone you may need to first download a Barcode Scanning app, and if so you can find a few suggested free ones here.
Cut And Paste, Point And Click
If you are an artist or brand with content on Myxer, you can easily “right click” on the code and save your Myxer QR Code as an image you can use on your own site, or even in printed materials to make it easy for your fans to point and click to get right to all your content on Myxer. Even better, not only does every item on Myxer now have a QR Code, but every item and artist also already has a customizable SMS keyword (Text “YourName” to 69937) so between the SMS code and the QR code, any phone can easily get to your content from anywhere you place the codes and SMS instructions. Cool!
Try it now and get a free laugh from the the “Can You Hear Me Now” ringtone by scanning the code below, and if you don’t have a scanning phone just Text “joelhaas 499″ to 69937 or click here.
1 comments:
Appreciate thiis blog post
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