Tarah's Digital Voice

This is going to be intense...

At this point, I think that the most utility for marketers considering using QR codes lies in the lack of effort on the participant's part. However, it's only effortless if that person has a code scanner on his/her smartphone. That's still a relatively big barrier, but the more widely adopted that functionality becomes, the more useful these will become.

One of the ways that we're using QR codes at Real Branding, is by creating a distinct code for each platform it will be used on (print, event materials, digital, etc.), allowing us to track the effectiveness of each. This will help us to gain key insights about our audience's behavior and preferences, extremely quickly, not to mention that it's free & simple, thanks to bit.ly. It's exciting that it's starting to become so accessible, both to marketers and audiences.

Are you using QR codes for marketing campaigns or other reasons? Let me know in the comments.

QR codes are everywhere these days — in fine art exhibits, some cities’ building permits, wrapping paper and every imaginable kind of marketing campaign.

QR code-focused startup JumpScan was kind enough to send along a graphically organized representation of some data they’ve gathered about QR codes — who’s scanning them, what kinds of devices they’re using and what brands are running QR code campaigns.

Cooler still, you can scan every QR code in this infographic to get more info, making this Mashable‘s first interactive infographic. So have your smartphones at the ready, and click the image below if you need to see a larger version.

When you’re done clicking, scanning and learning, riddle us this in the comments section: When was the last time you scanned a QR code, and what did you get out of it?

Image courtesy of JumpScan.

For a complete infographic addict, like me, this made my day. Thanks to Ashmi Dang (LinkedIn; @AshmiNYC on Twitter) for this one.

Infographics are kind of annoying. Sure, they pack a lot of information into a few words and figures, but they often leave you wanting more (and it doesn't help that they're impossible not to click on). ThinkBrilliant addresses this problem in themost logical way possible: with this super-meta infographics infographic. It uses the format we all love (and loathe) to explain why said format makes us feel so torn. So next time you're promised a lot of information with minimal reading involved, you'll understand why part of you just isn't buying it.

It's amazing how much of this I remember, from the launch of these services. I love living in a time where communication challenges are often solved soon after the clamor for them reaches an audible din.

I have a few bones to pick with it, though:

• Writing "The End" at the bottom seems pretty silly. We are FAR from the end...
• Where's location-based social networking, photo sharing, content social networking and the myriad other social networks that have gained significant prominence? This presents a rather limited view.

The reigning abundance of food-related check-ins shows why I love Foursquare as a foodie - I use the Tips feature almost as much as Yelp these days.