QR Codes Gaining Momentum? Now Generated by Bit.ly and Goo.gl

For those of you unfamiliar with QR Codes (or Quick Response Codes) are those cryptogram images (typically black and white) that can be scanned to a smart phone. Scanning a QR code allows you to obtain instant answers and links you directly to whatever you may need. Embedded information on the code can include a URL, text, a phone number or an address and ready-to-send SMS message. QR scanner apps are available for installation on the iPhone, Windows Mobile, Nokia, Blackberry and other app-based phones with a built-in camera. You may find these codes in magazines, billboards (as depicted above), on buses, business cards or anywhere else a quick link is needed.

Now that we have established a basic understanding for the technology, the most recent news regarding the feature is that the popular URL shortening service, Bit.ly has recently enabled users to produce these codes. This ability to create your own code has been available for some time. However, the implementation to this popular site, and more importantly the timing of its release- just less than 2 weeks after Google’s URL shortener, Goo.gl made this feature available- should be noted.

This technology has been popular for years in Asia and Europe. But could the adoption of this feature by these two sites be the catalyst in making QR Codes more mainstream in the United States? Only time will tell but one thing that is for certain is that this avenue for instant information should not be overlooked.