QR code stands for Quick Response code and is a type of 2D bar code. I’ve written about QR codes before on another blog, and they’ve gained a lot of popularity since then so I won’t go into too much background information but if you would like more history on QR Codes Wikipedia has a nice article about them.

Why Use QR Codes?

QR Codes are a great way to augment traditional media and  quickly relay data to mobile users allowing them to instantly view it on their mobile device or easily store it for later reference.   Mobio Identity Systems Inc an international mobile payments and marketing company released a report showing a 9840% increase in QR coded scanning  during the second quarter of 2011 in North America. Internet marketing research company comScore also recently gave a press release revealing 6.2 percent or 14 million mobile users in the US scanned QR codes on their phones during June of 2011.

Creating Codes and Identifying Content

There are lots of mobile apps and websites which allow users to create QR Codes. Simply search Google for the phrase “qr code generator” and at least the first eight results will be just that. My preferred generator is one by the ZXing Project, who are also the developers of the Barcode reader app for Android. Virtually all QR code generators allow you to identify the type of content you are placing inside of the code which is important because it helps the decoding app determine the best way to handle the decoded data. For example if you’re placing a URL inside of a QR code you would like who ever scans the code to be able to automatically visit your link and not simply have it appear on their screen as static text, which is why you should make sure to identify a QR code containing a URL as a URL and not text.

Read the rest of QR Codes »

What It Is

Google+ is Google’s latest venture into social media. Like other social networks it lets you create a profile, share text, links, photos, videos, and even your location.

Whats Different About It

Google+ puts the emphasis on Groups which it calls circles. To add someone to your network you must add them to one or more circles. When creating a post  Google+ clearly highlights who you’re sharing with. You can make a post public, share it with extended circles, all of your own circles, or one or more specific circles. After creating a post you also have the option to edit it, disable comments, and disable resharing of the post.

Google+  also lets you creat hangouts which essentially are video chat rooms which you can invite friends to join if they are available  or feel inclined to do so. The idea is a more casual approach to video conferencing than what you have with most instant messaging and video conferencing applications. Read the rest of My Thoughts on Google+ »

1. You give personal accolades on Facebook to people without Facebook accounts.
2. You get angry at people in real life and then post comments on Facebook as if you were speaking directly to that person.
3. You’re Facebook “friends” with people you don’t like.
4. You get angry at co workers and casual acquaintances who don’t friend you on Facebook
5. Facebook is your primary means of communication with people you actually see on a regular basis. Read the rest of Ten Ways to Tell If You’re Addicted to Facebook »

One of the unfortunate facts of social networking is that no two people are going to like or appreciate all of the same types of media or activities, and as more services pop up with the ability to integrate with your favorite social networks this may become a bigger issues for you,   but before you go chopping away at your list of social contacts or stepping on any toes consider filtering your list using third-party tools like TweetDeck and HootSuite.

Here are some commonly used  words and phrases used by third-party applications you may want to filter from your feeds if you feel so inclined:

“twittascope”
“now playing”
“i am watching”/”via @getglue”
“just completed a”/”@runkeeper”/”#runkeeper”
“daily is out!”/”top stories today via”
“i’m at”/”i just ousted” Read the rest of Filtering Your Social Feeds »