I love QR Codes, so should you

The world seems to have gone QR Code mad in the last week or so.

I first heard of them via Bryan Miller a few years ago, and to be honest I’ve become a bit obsessed with them, (as anyone who follows me on Twitter will testify). And I’m delighted that they are finally starting to be used by charities. Oxfam this week and I’m sure many others to come soon.

I love them because they are a bit geeky, they look beautiful and if harnessed properly could prove to be a really powerful tool for fundraisers.

Combining smartphones, text messaging and mobile optimised websites will give a shot in the arm to press advertising, inserts, direct mail and all the other print based fundraising channels that exist.

Print can be used to grab attention. But once the code has been scanned by the potential donor or activist the phone will take over. Mobile optimised websites will enable video, pictures, detailed information to be delivered with ease in a much more accessible, engaging and interactive way than print. Most importantly the process of responding to that piece of print will be much much easier.

But of course there is much more to QR Codes than supporting print, but it seems a great place to start.

I'm currently trying to convince a charity to paint a massive one on the outside of their building, if that happens I'm sure you will hear about it!

Take up is still relatively low, but the graph below, showing Google search results from January 2010 until last week, indicates that lots and lots of people are starting to get interested in what these funny codes are for.

More reading and information:

Lots of great examples here on Flickr.

A great blog from Ashely at Beautiful World.

Some more reading and articles from my Diggo.

Photo from Scott Blake