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It’s like QR codes too. First it was invented… but no phone platform supported it natively, then WeChat in China built a platform and ecosystem within phone pla

It’s like QR codes too. First it was invented… but no phone platform supported it natively, then WeChat in China built a platform and ecosystem within phone platforms and bundled a QR code reader which made it take off in China, then something like 10 years later Apple adds QR scanning to the camera app and we get pervasive QR codes finally. Saying “nobody uses it” is a copout if you are a de-facto monopoly.

vlovich123 3y ago
That's not correct. Firstly, it had taken off in Japan a long time ago. Blackberry supported it in fact and I remember being at an intern recruiting event where the recruiter was smug about QR codes being on the cusp of mass adoption (being more than a decade early is wrong for this kind of stuff). The problem was that the UX sucked. The UX today still kind of sucks but it's infinitely better than what was available when QR codes were first around by being integrated into the camera app.
- throw0101c 3y ago
  > That's not correct. Firstly, it had taken off in Japan a long time ago. It was in fact invented in Japan: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
mlindner 3y ago
Pretty sure China had no part in popularizing it and third party apps had support for it on iPhone a long time ago. I was seeing and using QR codes here in the US back in 2010 or so pretty commonly. They were limited to college campuses and SF bay area then but still were around plenty. I remember being frustrated that my non-smartphone flip-phone didn't support them (and no way to add support for them either).
- tssva 3y ago
  Were college campuses and the SF bay area the only places you had exposure to in 2010? I wasn't near either around 2010 but saw a lot of QR codes.
- chrischen 3y ago
  I lived in SF in the 2010s... QR code adoption was abysmal. I'm not saying China wis why we adopted QR codes, but because the QR code function was part of the main UX of their main platform (Wechat app), there was massive adoption of QR codes before the US started doing so in the late 2010s because our major platforms (Android, iOS) started integrating it into the core UX.
ls612 3y ago
I remember seeing QR codes in my high school in 2010 so idk how people were using them back then (I wasn’t allowed a smartphone as a teenager).
- zone411 3y ago
  You could use an iPhone app. Here is an article from 2009 that mentions some https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/qr-code-readers-for-your-iphone/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/qr-code-read...
bobthepanda 3y ago
There was an NYT article about how restaurants are actually dropping QR code menus due to customers disliking them and spending less with QR menus. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/dining/restaurant-qr-code-menu.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/dining/restaurant-qr-code...
- Spooky23 3y ago
  The issue isn’t the QR, it’s the weird dynamic of a restaurant with a guy who shows you to a table, then you’re ordering from some stupid webpage. For the price of eliminating underpaid waitstaff, the customer has a weird, slow ordering experience that cannot accommodate undocumented needs. The customer response is: fuck you. Fast food is similar with order kiosks.
  - katbyte 3y ago
    > Fast food is similar with order kiosks i'd be ok with them if i could place my usual order (sub and add onions) but i can't so i always have to goto the counter
    - nightfly 3y ago
      It really depends on the place. Taco bell and burger king both handle changes really well in their app

vlovich123 3y ago

That's not correct. Firstly, it had taken off in Japan a long time ago. Blackberry supported it in fact and I remember being at an intern recruiting event where the recruiter was smug about QR codes being on the cusp of mass adoption (being more than a decade early is wrong for this kind of stuff). The problem was that the UX sucked. The UX today still kind of sucks but it's infinitely better than what was available when QR codes were first around by being integrated into the camera app.

throw0101c 3y ago
> That's not correct. Firstly, it had taken off in Japan a long time ago. It was in fact invented in Japan: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

mlindner 3y ago

Pretty sure China had no part in popularizing it and third party apps had support for it on iPhone a long time ago. I was seeing and using QR codes here in the US back in 2010 or so pretty commonly. They were limited to college campuses and SF bay area then but still were around plenty. I remember being frustrated that my non-smartphone flip-phone didn't support them (and no way to add support for them either).

tssva 3y ago
Were college campuses and the SF bay area the only places you had exposure to in 2010? I wasn't near either around 2010 but saw a lot of QR codes.
chrischen 3y ago
I lived in SF in the 2010s... QR code adoption was abysmal. I'm not saying China wis why we adopted QR codes, but because the QR code function was part of the main UX of their main platform (Wechat app), there was massive adoption of QR codes before the US started doing so in the late 2010s because our major platforms (Android, iOS) started integrating it into the core UX.

ls612 3y ago

I remember seeing QR codes in my high school in 2010 so idk how people were using them back then (I wasn’t allowed a smartphone as a teenager).

zone411 3y ago
You could use an iPhone app. Here is an article from 2009 that mentions some https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/qr-code-readers-for-your-iphone/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/qr-code-read...

bobthepanda 3y ago

There was an NYT article about how restaurants are actually dropping QR code menus due to customers disliking them and spending less with QR menus. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/dining/restaurant-qr-code-menu.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/dining/restaurant-qr-code...

Spooky23 3y ago
The issue isn’t the QR, it’s the weird dynamic of a restaurant with a guy who shows you to a table, then you’re ordering from some stupid webpage. For the price of eliminating underpaid waitstaff, the customer has a weird, slow ordering experience that cannot accommodate undocumented needs. The customer response is: fuck you. Fast food is similar with order kiosks.
- katbyte 3y ago
  > Fast food is similar with order kiosks i'd be ok with them if i could place my usual order (sub and add onions) but i can't so i always have to goto the counter
  - nightfly 3y ago
    It really depends on the place. Taco bell and burger king both handle changes really well in their app