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... says the CEO of a QR code startup. I've been anti-QR code for a while—partly just because I like playing devil's advocate—but mainly because I see little b

... says the CEO of a QR code startup. I've been anti-QR code for a while—partly just because I like playing devil's advocate—but mainly because I see little benefit and a lot of friction to use "in the real world" Now, please, someone on HN who isn't a QR-preneur tell me a story of how a QR code in the wild made your life better ...

dstein 15y ago
I've been experimenting with using QR codes just to copy/paste text and bookmarks between computers. It's something that sounds simple, but really there aren't any good ways to do that, especially not once you add mobile devices and computers other than your own.
callahad 15y ago
I've used QR codes to exchange contact information with people at conferences, and found it to be the most efficient means to go from meeting someone to having their email address in my phone.
- deleted 15y ago
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RobertHubert 15y ago
Saves me having to open safari and type in long url (better spel it right too). Im a huge fan of getting stuff done faster so if its cuts out a step Im all over it. But Ill admit that QR tech has a some resistance ahead of itself before people get used to it. Ill agree though that many QR codes annoy me when it just goes to a home page. staples.com is not difficult for anyone to type in... Im sure there is some character count threshold for the average user where a QR code would be worth the effort of opening the scanner app and scanning it rather than typing in a URL. Then again there is placement, Im not going to be able to scan a QR code on a freeway billboard or on a car going by but on a subway or bus advert where Im already stuck in a spot for 10-15 mins and probably already have my phone out is great placement. Advertisers and QR codies have to be smart otherwise it will turn people off and it becomes just another thing in our face.
andymism 15y ago
This was a timely article as I recently had a fun time playing devil's advocate regarding QR codes in a friend's start up idea. She insists that they are a useful, convenient, and a big trend. I countered that they require too much effort and precision to be mainstream in their current incarnation. While the promised convenience sounds great (which was basically her argument), the current implementation does not live up to that promise. While in Las Vegas, recently, she mentioned that she went to an art gallery that had QR codes on the placards for paintings that were for sale. One could scan the code and be taken to the gallery's website where you could then purchase a print. Prints cost in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Who goes to an art gallery in Las Vegas to walk out with a few bookmarks so they can spend a thousand dollars at home? It's a use case with lots of cool factor and wouldn't-it-be-awesome-if's, but that does not pan out with real, normal humans. I was at Google IO this past May with 5,000 other nerds. I spent much of the time walking around, talking to people, and figuring out whose brain I wanted to pick further. On our admission badge was a QR code that attendees could opt-in to having all your contact information on using a checkbox on the Google IO registration page. I had opted in for this. What do you think the primary method of exchanging contact info was that weekend? You guessed it. Business cards. Only one person asked to scan my QR code, but this was after he asked for my business card first (I ran out). The rest of time, I logged email addresses and names in my phone or wrote my name and email on a piece of paper. QR codes are a flop. I know this because I was in a room with 5,000 fellow nerds for a weekend, in 2011, and almost none of us cared to use it. How can you be the hot new tech if the nerds don't care to use you?
- deleted 15y ago
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  - andymism 15y ago
    > It could also be that they just aren't being implemented in a very intelligent way that makes them easy for people (or that the nerds are wrong–gasp! :) I agree. They are not implemented in an intelligent way which makes them clumsy and painful to use. My point about nerds is that us nerds are much more likely to live with pain to use fun, new tech. And as far as my experience from Google IO and my day-to-day work life, it doesn't seem to be the case here.
querulous 15y ago
i was at the beach a couple weeks ago, and a couple of volunteers with an organization that test local beaches for water safety came by and told me about their iphone/android app. i mostly listened politely, ignoring everything they said because there was no way i was going to search the app store for their app and install it when they handed me a card with a QR code on it. scanning it installed their app on my phone. i don't know that it made my life better, but it certainly removed a lot of friction in getting me to install their app.
eik3_de 15y ago
Riding the tram, there was an ad of sth. interesting sticked to the door. The URL and a QR code were printed at the bottom. Instead of opening the browser and typing in the URL on the shaky train I fired up the Goggles app (home screen), pointed it to the code and about 2 seconds and one button later the page was loading in my browser. Given an URL and a QR code above I would always choose to use the QR code just because it's much easier than using the tiny on-screen keyboard of the smartphone. QR codes should not try to replace an URL but rather be an alternative to typing it in. You could compare that to whatever.com (not hyperlinked, type in/copy paste) vs. http://whatever.com/ http://whatever.com/ (hyperlinked, one click).
- LeafStorm 15y ago
  I agree completely. And if the Barcode Scanner app came standard (or, better yet, if the normal camera app could read QRs on its own), it would be even easier. Just press the "Camera" button on the side and get the code in the viewfinder, then bam - done.

dstein 15y ago

I've been experimenting with using QR codes just to copy/paste text and bookmarks between computers. It's something that sounds simple, but really there aren't any good ways to do that, especially not once you add mobile devices and computers other than your own.

callahad 15y ago

I've used QR codes to exchange contact information with people at conferences, and found it to be the most efficient means to go from meeting someone to having their email address in my phone.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

RobertHubert 15y ago

Saves me having to open safari and type in long url (better spel it right too). Im a huge fan of getting stuff done faster so if its cuts out a step Im all over it. But Ill admit that QR tech has a some resistance ahead of itself before people get used to it. Ill agree though that many QR codes annoy me when it just goes to a home page. staples.com is not difficult for anyone to type in... Im sure there is some character count threshold for the average user where a QR code would be worth the effort of opening the scanner app and scanning it rather than typing in a URL. Then again there is placement, Im not going to be able to scan a QR code on a freeway billboard or on a car going by but on a subway or bus advert where Im already stuck in a spot for 10-15 mins and probably already have my phone out is great placement. Advertisers and QR codies have to be smart otherwise it will turn people off and it becomes just another thing in our face.

andymism 15y ago

This was a timely article as I recently had a fun time playing devil's advocate regarding QR codes in a friend's start up idea. She insists that they are a useful, convenient, and a big trend. I countered that they require too much effort and precision to be mainstream in their current incarnation. While the promised convenience sounds great (which was basically her argument), the current implementation does not live up to that promise. While in Las Vegas, recently, she mentioned that she went to an art gallery that had QR codes on the placards for paintings that were for sale. One could scan the code and be taken to the gallery's website where you could then purchase a print. Prints cost in the range of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Who goes to an art gallery in Las Vegas to walk out with a few bookmarks so they can spend a thousand dollars at home? It's a use case with lots of cool factor and wouldn't-it-be-awesome-if's, but that does not pan out with real, normal humans. I was at Google IO this past May with 5,000 other nerds. I spent much of the time walking around, talking to people, and figuring out whose brain I wanted to pick further. On our admission badge was a QR code that attendees could opt-in to having all your contact information on using a checkbox on the Google IO registration page. I had opted in for this. What do you think the primary method of exchanging contact info was that weekend? You guessed it. Business cards. Only one person asked to scan my QR code, but this was after he asked for my business card first (I ran out). The rest of time, I logged email addresses and names in my phone or wrote my name and email on a piece of paper. QR codes are a flop. I know this because I was in a room with 5,000 fellow nerds for a weekend, in 2011, and almost none of us cared to use it. How can you be the hot new tech if the nerds don't care to use you?

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- andymism 15y ago
  > It could also be that they just aren't being implemented in a very intelligent way that makes them easy for people (or that the nerds are wrong–gasp! :) I agree. They are not implemented in an intelligent way which makes them clumsy and painful to use. My point about nerds is that us nerds are much more likely to live with pain to use fun, new tech. And as far as my experience from Google IO and my day-to-day work life, it doesn't seem to be the case here.

querulous 15y ago

i was at the beach a couple weeks ago, and a couple of volunteers with an organization that test local beaches for water safety came by and told me about their iphone/android app. i mostly listened politely, ignoring everything they said because there was no way i was going to search the app store for their app and install it when they handed me a card with a QR code on it. scanning it installed their app on my phone. i don't know that it made my life better, but it certainly removed a lot of friction in getting me to install their app.

eik3_de 15y ago

Riding the tram, there was an ad of sth. interesting sticked to the door. The URL and a QR code were printed at the bottom. Instead of opening the browser and typing in the URL on the shaky train I fired up the Goggles app (home screen), pointed it to the code and about 2 seconds and one button later the page was loading in my browser. Given an URL and a QR code above I would always choose to use the QR code just because it's much easier than using the tiny on-screen keyboard of the smartphone. QR codes should not try to replace an URL but rather be an alternative to typing it in. You could compare that to whatever.com (not hyperlinked, type in/copy paste) vs. http://whatever.com/ http://whatever.com/ (hyperlinked, one click).

LeafStorm 15y ago
I agree completely. And if the Barcode Scanner app came standard (or, better yet, if the normal camera app could read QRs on its own), it would be even easier. Just press the "Camera" button on the side and get the code in the viewfinder, then bam - done.