Life is about change.With it we not have evolved to where we are today spiritually, intellectually, mentally ,, emotionally, physically and anything else you want to add to the list. For the last decade or more there has been a quest to find a way to merge print and Internet. Many have said print is dead; there has been an effort to migrate print to digital in the form of e-ziines, e-newsletters and a host of other “e-digistuff”.
Finding a functional link has been difficult, or had been until sitting in on a Kawasaki wheel loader press conference. During this Z7 unveiling they also introduced a product delivery handbook that used QR Codes to instantly link Kawasaki wheel loader operators video-delivered information on their smart phones. This is significant. Take a look: http://www.site-kconstructionzone.com/?s=Kawasaki
This started me thinking that this was the missing link that could enhance print-based reading. The following appears in the December issues of the 13 ACP magazines along with other related information.
What’s This?
You’ve seen this image in a lot of different places. It’s a QR Code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds (“modes”) of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or through supported extensions, virtually any kind of data.[1]
In order to use it you need a barcode scanner on your smart phone. There are any numbers of these apps available. I like the ScanLife app (http://www.scanlife.com/en/gl-appsh) because it’s easy to download and easy to use. If you can’t use the link above, then simply Google ScanLife app and you’ll find it on the page to which you are taken.
When you see this barcode, if you are interested in more information, going to a web page or seeing a related video, take your smartphone and scan the barcode. Within seconds you will be catapulted through cyberspace to the information you are intertested in seeing. You always wondered if Milli was real and alive. Take a look; see for yourself:
The QR code becomes an instant link to the Internet without having to go to your computer or tablet. If you are on a job site and want need this information you’ve got it, right now!
This really is the “greatest thing since sliced bread!” Suddenly you can read and watch a video no matter where you are as long as you have your issue of an ACP magazine, starting with the December 2012 issues,a smartphone and the scan app.
As you go through articles you will see that we interspersed these QR codes where we think they can add value to the article that you are reading. You’ll find them in the product section providing you with a link to more information including specs, a trip to the manufacturer’s site or even a video showing the machine in action
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This takes reading into the 21st century and links print an Internet in a practical, realistic, functional fashion where you as a reader can make better use of your time and information acquisition and processing.
By the way, it also works if you are reading an article on your computer. Scan it on the monitor and view the related information on your smartphone without leaving the material you are viewing. Don’t you just hate it when you use a link in an article, click on it get whisked away to the additional information and are a captive in cyberspace, unable to go back to where you left off?
This is pretty exciting stuff… it changes the playing field and puts you, the reader back in control – if you don’t want to read online, you don’t have to, you can get all the action, in full motion right from the pages of the magazine you are reading — instantly.