Ok, so I think this is pretty cool. Microsoft introduced a Beta (in testing) task back in January 2009. They created new technology using barcodes, similar to those you might find on products in the grocery store. These bar-codes can be settled on fliers, on the back of business cards, on the back of packaging or in your store somewhere. You can generate them to hold data that when snapped with your camera on your smart phone, you can be taken to a website, see an advert, view a video, or download your online business card directly to the phone!
The first step, in order to truly click on these bar-codes is to download the tag reader from the Microsoft website. Or, download it from your phone browser by searching for the Microsoft Tag Reader. This will download the application to your smart phone (which must have a camera). Next, you need a tag to snap! Using the Tag Reader application you downloaded, you will simply click a picture of the bar-code tag. My BlackBerry phone needed a bit of patience and institution when snapping the image. My husbands Sprint Htc Touch Pro 2 phone didn't even need me to click the camera, it zoomed in and found the image on it's own, pretty cool!
Creating the tags is pretty easy. You must generate an account, or you can use your Msn Live account and log in with that if you already have one. Once you are logged in, you can start creating tags. It allows you resolve what will happen when person snaps your tag. Do you want it to go out to a website, dial a estimate that you can set up with some kind of advertisement or 1-800 estimate with information, or even download your business card to their address book!
As you can see, you can customize the tags with your own images and consist of them in the bar-code. The possibilities are endless! Although this is relatively new, fellowships are catching on to the technology. Microsofts website shows Pillsbury and general Mills using tags on some of their fliers, and Xbox and Best Buy have used them also. They can be used to send information about new products, generate hype about up arrival events, or send information to customers in a fun and unique way.
How could you envision incorporating this into your business? Can you see it catching on, or a need for this formula of distributing data?
Microsoft Tag Reader - Can it Help Your Business?