Connecting The Real World To The Online World

What self-respecting person doesn't Google something at least once every hour? 

When you are online, anything you want to know is right there.  Every curious whim is easily indulged.  What's the weather like right now in Portland?  Who's got the cheapest price on contact lenses?  Who sang Maria on the original cast album?  Where can I find parts for a '77 El Camino? 

Now, marketers are finding ways to make it easier to connect to the instant information we crave, further closing the gap between the "real world" and the online experience.

Real estate signs in the Netherlands, Australia, and the UK now advertise codes linked to text messages that provide property details, or can connect you to a mobile website with information about the property--all while you're standing on the street wondering how many bathrooms the place has. 

In Japan, a new kind of "barcode" called the QRcode with even more information packed into it is showing up on product packaging and in print.  30 million Japanese already have a camera phone that can read the information in the code.  With one snapshot, the code directs the phone's web browser to a site with more information, coupons, or other promotional content about that particular item.

Culture Watch by Tracy Collins, Sr. Vice President Creative, Design & Innovation

Comments

[Swampthing]

I would rather just qode it!

[streetstylz]

20+ parties attended the inaugural MC2 meeting in London consisting of carriers, handset manufacturers, and technology innovators such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, France Telecom, Telefonica O2, Deutsche Telekom, Hutchison Whampoa, Telecom Italia, and Cingular just to name a few. With such predominate backing from these 20+ deeply involved parties, MC2 aims to set the global standards for mobile smartcode dissemination.

http://www.mobilecodes.org