Why the QR code is failing

Came across this story by Sean X Cummings on LinkedIn and wanted to share...

They have become the standard violator appearing on advertising; in the corner of print ads, across billboards, on buses, or in pieces of direct mail -- even peppered throughout this article. You've seen them; that little block of even littler squares. Unfortunately the technology behind QR codes was not invented for advertising and marketing; we are just co-opting its usage, and it shows.

From the relative lack of public understanding of what they even are, to the dearth of creativity in their usage, the QR code is destined to become just the little box that geek built. But if it does go the way of CueCat, only we are to blame. Here's why.

The current use of QR codes in advertising is...
I could finish that statement with "stupid," "useless," "uncreative," or "uninspiring." Surprisingly, that is not news to anyone at advertising agencies or brands. QR codes seem to be a last ditch effort; an ignored piece of "Hey, throw a QR code on there that leads to our website." But why bother? The general public seems largely oblivious to what they are used for, and why they are on all those ads. In my informal "on the street" survey of 300 people last month, I held up a sign with a QR code on it and the phrase: "Free gift if you can tell me what this is."

I was not asking them to decipher it, just tell me what it actually was. Here are the results:

• 11 percent correctly answered QR code or quick response code
• 29 percent responded with "Some barcode thingy"
• Seven percent guessed some variant of "Those things you stare at that get 3D when you cross your eyes. What picture is it? I can't seem to get it"
• The remaining 53 percent tried everything from a secret military code, Korean (uh really?), to an aerial street map of San Francisco

My survey was conducted in San Francisco, the veritable Mecca of the planet for tech, so it only goes downhill from here. When I asked those who knew it was some type of "barcode" how they could decipher it, 35 percent answered "with their phone." When I asked them to actually "read" it with their phone? Only 45 percent of those were able to do it, and it took an average of 47 seconds for them to take out their phone and find the application to read the QR code -- not exactly a "quick response." Remember that agencies are putting these on moving buses and highway billboards.

Finding What We're Losing

We came across this blog from Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Executive Director Jack Roberts..

Finding What We’re Losing

March 25, 2011

My wife doesn’t listen to me much, and she certainly doesn’t help me search anymore, when I say I’ve lost something. Seems I’m always searching for something, but especially eyeglasses and keys. “You always find them” she says. “Eventually.” And it’s true. I do.

And here’s what I’ve discovered: I almost always find what I’ve lost in the places I last left them. Quite obvious, isn’t it? We always find what we’ve lost in the places we’ve last left them.

In my opinion, in a few years we’re going to be saying that we’ve lost some things in our schools that have been important to us; and we’re going to find them right where we lost them.

• When schools realize they’ve lost a magnet for attracting students and the involvement of parents, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a forum for giving a school identity and generating school spirit, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a tool for reaching students and motivating students to stay in school, like school and do better in school, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a program that teaches discipline, time management, hard work, teamwork and citizenship, they’ll start looking for those things . . .
• When schools realize they’ve lost a program that improves student attendance and GPAs and reduces discipline problems and dropouts, they’ll start looking for those things . . .

And all these things that schools have lost will be found right in the place they were last left – in school-sponsored, student-centered competitive athletics and activities.

HS Sports from the perspective of the OHSAA

Jake found this informational interview on Youtube with OHSAA Assistant Commissioner Jerry Snodgrass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_z7NnzcfQo

Let's Hear it for the Girl (Kicker)!

My boss Jake forwarded this email to me today along with the comment “something like this could only happen in high school.” Because I am a female he thought I might offer a better perspective on it, and I hope he’s right. He’s right about one thing for sure, only in high school could something like this happen…but there is more to that… I’m a lot older than my boss so many things come to mind. First not only could this not happen anywhere else but high school, but from my perspective, when I was in high school girls weren’t even allowed to play football, or soccer for that matter! It’s amazing to me how much girl’s sports have advanced since I graduated from high school in the mid 80’s. There were a few instances of girls playing football prior to Title IX in the early 70’s but those were few and far between. In fact even in the 70’s girls faced challenges trying to play football for their high school team. So jump ahead to 2011 and Brianna Amat not only becomes the homecoming queen, but the first female player to play on the Pinckney High School’s varsity team in Michigan. It makes me glad for my two daughters, ages 14 and 9. My 4^th grade daughter can outrun any 5^th or 6^th grade boy on her schools cross country team and my older daughter can out swim most of her male teammates. I hopeful that someday they will be given the same opportunity that Brianna had to compete against athletes of similar ability, not just gender. But for now both swimming and cross country are divided by gender. Not exactly what my boss had in mind maybe..but…

Back to my Jake’s original point: “something like this could only happen in high school” and therein lies the beauty of high school sports. Anything can happen.

PINCKNEY, Mich. – A Michigan girl is wowing classmates on and off the field at her high school.

Brianna Amat, the first female to play on Pinckney High School's varsity football team, kicked a 31-yard game-winning field goal on Friday and was crowned homecoming queen during the game, MyFOXDetroit.com reports.

Amat was already a soccer star at Pinckney High. She told her soccer coach she wanted to kick footballs as well. Head football coach Dan Burholder was impressed, so he put her on the team. Friday night was Amat's biggest game against Grand Blanc, who was ranked No. 7 in the state.

Amat got a note at halftime telling her to come out of the locker room. To her surprise, she was crowned homecoming queen during the game.

With five minutes to play in the third quarter, facing a fourth and goal, Burkholder called Amat to attempt a 31-yard field goal -- a career-best distance. Amat made the kick, sending Pinckney to a 9-7 win over Grand Blanc. The crowd went nuts, but Amat says she only heard silence because she was so focused on the game. Amat plans to attend Western Michigan University and major in business advertising.