Join the Q

If you are nor familiar with this image then you are perhaps not alone.

It is a QR Code ® and this one is for thedigitalconsultant blog's URL.

Such coding will becoming increasingly obvious on magazines and as prevalent as the barcode which appears on most products.

A 1994 Japanese invention, the QR Code is a two dimensional code (matrix code) which you can read on mobile phones that have a camera, smart phones and dedicated QR scanners.

The beauty of it is that you can encode text, site URLs, and other data that you wish to share.

The QR code (its name is short for quick response) was developed to promote quick identification and processing.

They have moved quickly from being a geeky novelty to an item that should be included in all digital channel communciations and deployment.

Source: Global Graphica

With the rapid deployment of smart phones expect Q Codes to be increasingly used in all forms of advertising - on buildings, buses, print material and even on business cards.

Even shopping will be quicker.  Imagine you are reading an article in a magazine and you spot a QR Code.

All you need to do is get your phone with its free QR scanning software and scan in the QR code.  One quick scan and you are instantly transported to the relevant website to get additional information. Simple - no keyboarding required.

So how do you go about creating Q Code for you company or personal use?  The answer is very simple using this free tool from Kaywa.

 Source: Kaywa.com

Those industries who rely on handscanners can use Q Codes to revolutionise their businesses and the scanner process will be considerably cheaper than the hardware currently in use. A cellphone with a camera is all that is needed.

Here is an example of QR Codes being used in the manufacture of electronics and if you would like to learn more about the technical side of this data encoding system I would recommend a visit to QR Code.com.

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• What is a QR Code? - QR Codes - Library Research Guides at Boise State University (guides.boisestate.edu)

Coming Soon - Realtime Analytics For Twitter

Twitter has announced that they will be releasing an analytics package in the fourth quarter of this year.

This is good news as measuring the power of the 'tweet' is an inexact science at best.

Reportedly the focus will be on twitter stream activity, as there are already excellent tools such as Klout and Twitalyzer to measure the general performance of any given account.

WebTrends says that the product will leverage algorithms similar to the Twitter Resonance concept in order to show users which tweets are spreading, who is influential in their network, and more.

The emphasis is on real time in order to help users make adjustments on the fly to their tactics.
It is being created by the team Twitter acquired in June, which created Trendly.

Twitter had previously identified analytics as a potential revenue stream so it is both surprising and pleasing to see that they will be rolling this out as a free service.

Possibly they will offer a more comprehensive and paying service for businesses in the future?

For marketers who have thus far found it difficult to justify time and budget spent on Twitter marketing this development is very good news indeed.

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• Twitter acquires Vancouver startup Dabble DB to develop real-time analytics dashboard (techvibes.com)
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• Twitter to start beta testing an analytics dashboard by year end (thenextweb.com)