Connecting printed information with web information

MedaShift has the story QR Codes Connect Print to the Web. It is a good story about using a common referencing system for linking an article in print to materials on the web. We use referencing systems all the time in our daily lives to link one item to another. Examples include page numbers, citations, social security numbers, surnames, UPC codes, etc. Using QR Codes to linking items in print to items online is the wrong system. In this blog I am interested in practical tools for use today, in the USA, and not the near future.

It is an unfamiliar mental leap to link a QR code with a web page. The QR code does not look like a URL or a domain name. For most people, the QR code looks like a United Parcel Service (UPC) tracking identifier. Perhaps the greatest obstacle, however, is that the user has no existing experience of coordinating the use of their phone's camera, an image identification service (with some parts on the phone and and parts on the internet), and the phone's web-browser to access information. I think these factors will lead to too either significant technical support costs or simply being ignored.

A better identifier for print is simply a short URL like the ones offered by bit.ly and Tiny URL services. A URL shortening service enables you to print a very short URL that when used in a web-browser will automatically redirect the user to the actual URL. For example, the short URL http://bit.ly/8iOGq will redirect you to http://www.southkingstownri.com/calendars/town-meetings/town-council-regular-session-work-session-begins-645pm.

The bit.ly service also provides some usage data about the shortened URL. There is nothing technically challenging to offering such a service and so the shortened URL can be closely associated with the Town or School. For example, the bit.ly example above could instead be http://skri.ws/8iOGq.

A shortened URL service offers all the advantages of QR codes as outlined in the MediaShift article with none of the experiential and technical problems. Plus, the reader can write down the short URL for use at another time and place.

So, the next time you see a public notice in print, like this notice on a tree on Saugatucket Rd, call Town Hall or the School Administration and ask why they did not include a short URL to get more information about the notice.