How to Use 2D QR Barcodes to Quickly Share Information

qr-codes-thumbI was recently introduced to QR Codes, which are a type of two-dimensional barcode that can store large amounts of information encrypted in a graphic.  This graphic can be scanned by devices like cell phones to quickly retrieve the data, so it’s great for sharing contact information, text, or URLs.

Scanning QR Codes with your mobile phone

There are several QR Code apps available for mobile phones, but most of you will be interested in:

Functionality for these applications is about the same – open the application and use your phone’s camera to scan the barcode.  I’m using Barcode Scanner for Android in this guide, and it gives you different options depending on the type of barcode you’ve scanned (so if you scan an email address it lets you send an email to that address or add it to your address book).

qr-codes-appIf your phone doesn’t have an application for scanning QR Codes, you can use the simple ZXing Online Decoder to scan a URL or upload an image.

Creating your own QR Codes

If you want to create your own QR Codes, check out the QR Code Generator.  This site lets you create codes for calendar events, contact information, email addresses, phone numbers, URLs, SMS messages, text strings, and even geographic locations.  All you have to do is fill out the form, choose the size of your image, and click the Generate button.

qr-codes-generator

QR Codes are a great way to quickly share data and I think we’ll see a lot of these popping up on business cards in the future.  Know of some good QR Code scanning software?  Share it with us in the comments!

qr-codes-card


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Comments

4 responses to “How to Use 2D QR Barcodes to Quickly Share Information”

  1. @wxguychris Avatar

    I had no idea these things could be so useful. That code generator is awesome.

  2. @wxguychris Avatar

    I had no idea these things could be so useful. That code generator is awesome.

  3.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Barcodes are so useful! I’ve geeked out over them quite a few times. I’m definitely gonna check this out, unfortunately I don’t really see it taking off anytime soon. It’s just too geeky for the common folk.

  4. Shane Avatar

    Barcodes are so useful! I’ve geeked out over them quite a few times. I’m definitely gonna check this out, unfortunately I don’t really see it taking off anytime soon. It’s just too geeky for the common folk.

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