What’s the deal with those barcodes?

by Meghan McQueeney

Let’s take a trip down magazine memory lane. Our destination? October, 2007: Billboard magazine’s “Mobile Special Issue” all but dubbed singer/songwriter/rapper/producer T-Pain the king of ringtones. This was, in other words, when ringtones were still worth writing about.
Somewhat lost in the shuffle of the selfsame Billboard issue was an article about a joint effort between Sprint and Scanbuy to test out a new 2D barcode platform.
Nearly three years later — largely because of smart phones and mobile “there’s an app for that” mania — 2D barcodes are a hot technology linking mobility, the internet and print media. Also known as QR codes, mobile tags or Microsoft’s proprietary High Capacity Color Barcodes, 2D barcodes appear on billboards and buses and in fliers and magazines worldwide.
So — what is a 2D barcode? We’re more familiar with traditional barcodes scanned at check-out counters. 2D barcodes are the next generation. They store more information and require special applications to interpret them. If your smart phone has the appropriate reader app installed, it can scan the mobile tag. This enables print — often dismissed as a dying medium — to be interactive, current and dynamic. Readers can interact with whatever they’re reading, using their phones to respond to anything inspiring them: charitable giving, promotions, travel ticketing, interactive gaming, music downloads, movies and more.
Still, there are limitations. To scan a mobile tag, one needs a camera phone, ideally with a data plan, supported by the correct tag-reader app. There are many 2D barcode generators and readers, yet device support is varied and choosing a reader can be confusing. For example, Microsoft tag reader is easy to use and supports a large array of devices, but it only supports Microsoft’s proprietary tag format.
People are relying more and more on the “connectedness” of their cellphones and are starting to expect a seamless mobile experience from their favorite websites, hangouts and — here’s where we come in — magazines.
Here at Scout, we are enabling Somerville’s businesses — and their customers — to experience this connectedness. Throughout this edition, you will find Microsoft tags you can scan with the Microsoft reader. To download the app, just go to gettag.mobi. Scan the barcode of Ball Square Fine Wines, and you’ll find an exclusive page of discounts and offers. Scan the ads of our other partners, and you’ll find menus, videos, coupons and other offerings. Better still, these offerings will change week-to-week — so keep on scanning as the days go by. Barcode technology allows print ads to change constantly.
Give it a try, and let us know what you think!

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