Use URL shorteners for better QR codes

With the “don’t touch anything” approach to handling COVID, particularly at restaurants, we’re seeing a bit of a resurgence with QR codes. Couple that with the fact that iPhone and Android both read QR codes from the main camera app (instead of needing a separate app) means that they’ll likely stick around to some degree.

QR codes > Bar codes

QR codes are more amazing than you might realize. With most “codes”, like bar codes on products, it simply references a number that the system needs to go back to someone’s database in order to figure out what it means. For example, you might scan a gallon of milk and get the number 123456789, which the system then tracks back to see what “123456789” really means.

QR codes are different. Rather than needing to rely on a database somewhere to translate them for you, the full content of what you want to share is literally in the code itself. It’s a bit complicated how they do it, but when you scan a QR code and it gives you a website address to visit, that website address is literally in that QR code, made up of the various modules — the dots that make up the code itself.

Open = Good

As you might have guessed, I love that approach. I’m a big believer of owning your own content to the extent possible, and no one can ever own the database behind QR codes — because there isn’t one! Every QR code stands on its own, and no one can stop that. It’s excellent.