QR Culture

Have an phone with a camera? Who doesn't? Download the QR Code software onto your phone and scan the Meaningful Memes QR code! You'll be linked to my blog directly via your smart phone in seconds!

Already popular in Japan and South Korea, QR (Quick Response) codes are currently increasing in popularity across the United States. It is a two-dimensional bar code (similar to those you find on store products) that you can scan with your phone and it will take you to the linked application or site.

Though originally created in Japan to track parts in vehicle manufacturing, they have proven versatile in other areas of culture. Marketers have been using them to make their products or applications more accessible. They have also been using them as a method of environmental friendliness, decreasing the act of wasting paper. For instance, when putting a home on the market, instead of using paper ads, people have been placing these QR codes on the "For Sale" signs for people to scan with their phones. They have been used for providing information on points of interest along nature trails and walking tours, providing mourners with information about the deceased on grave markers in Japanese cemeteries, and for providing doctors and emergency responders about possible health conditions, allergies and blood type through a QR code on a piece of jewelry.

I think what is more interesting is that they are being used by artists and rebels as a method of communication. Like secret codes embedded in the Mona Lisa, artists are placing QR codes in their art to be decrypted by your phone. The QR image is a little more revealing than the minuscule symbols in Mona Lisa's eyes, but their image tells a story or reveals a sentiment that is not immediately comprehended. Individuals have also utilized their initial mysteriousness to promote rebellious ideas as a somewhat less threatening act of defiance. Though posting QR codes may seem less jarring than intended, the benefit is that they will probably be posted longer than the more structurally damaging spray paints. Also, if you get caught posting the codes, you more than likely won't be charged with defacing public property (unless if you still really want to).

Technology truly permeates our culture in various ways.