Why Almost?

I'm a nit-picker - but here are a few suggestions to make the campaign better.

• Make the code bigger. When dealing with newsprint and its fuzzy images, it's always better to make the QR as large as possible - or as large as your advertising team will allows. Larger images are easier to scan.
• 
• A little more whitespace around the code would improve its readability.
• The text instructions are great - either SMS or type the URL in directly - but the text is fuzzy and indistinct.
• The video is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio.
• 
• I appreciate that you don't want people watching a stuttering 720p video over EDGE - but I feel that making the video widescreen to suit the majority of phones would have made the video more impressive. As it is, 240 x 192 the image looks a little blurred which perhaps isn't the best advert for HD.
• Finally, I noticed the campaign appearing in other papers.
• 
• As far as I can see, it's the same code. It would be a good idea to use a different code in each paper so you can see if, for example, Times readers are more likely to scan than Metro readers.

As I said - very minor complaints. Overall, an impressive use of QR codes from Sky. Well done to those involved.

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Moo Cards seem to be the darling of the UK tech scene. Cute business cards which you can personalise with whatever you like. Some people are boring and use company logos, others dump their best flickr images on there.

Me? I'm all about phones and QR codes, so.....

Considerations

• Find some free templates or stock photos of phones you want to use.  I've used a Nokia 6680, two generic phones (roaylty free from Clker) and a Nexus One (from Mike Clarke).  Choose phones which are relevant to your industry.
• Make the images the correct size.  Mine are 873 * 378px at 300dpi.  The more detail in your images, the better they'll look.
• QR codes need to be readable - make sure there's plenty of white space around them.
• The data in the QR code should be simple - the shorter the better.  The less information there is, the simpler the code will be, and the quicker it will scan.  Mine points to https://shkspr.mobi/card

Feel free to use the above as a template - don't forget to add your own QR code, not mine!  You can use my free QR generator.

The BBC, however, need a few lessons in how to optimise the experience. As part of their Prisoner Zero page - the BBC have an awesome "Wanted Poster". Here's the teaser image.

Prisoner Zero - QR Code

Let's take a look at the full QR code. This is about the size it would be if the poster were printed on A4.

QR Code

There are three problems with this QR code which reduce its functionality and usability.

Firstly, the contents of the QR are

MECARD:N:Doctor Who;URL:http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/;;

Aside from the fact the character is named "The Doctor", this is a rather large string to place in a QR code.  The longer the string, the more complex the code, the harder it is for a phone to decode it.

Secondly, QR codes are primarily used on mobile phones.  This is reinforced by the use of "MECARD" - a method to add someone to your address book.  Yet the URL the BBC point to isn't suitable for mobile!

This is crazy. There's a wonderful mobile friendly version of the Doctor Who site - http://bbc.mobi/drwho - why not point to that? People will be scanning this code on their mobile and then being directed to the BBC's desktop site. Madness!

Finally, the colouring.  While QR codes can work in any colour, they're easier to scan if the contrast is high.  That usually means black squares on a white background.  It's not so important if you've got a multi-megapixel camera with auto-focus and all sorts of other technology.  However, the primary audience for Doctor Who is children and teenagers. Not the sort of demographic to have awesome camera phones.

Fixing The QR Code

Using my QR Code generator, I've created a faster, simpler, and more useful QR Code.

http://bbc.mobi/drwho

Have a scan - it takes you directly to the mobile site.

I'm a big fan of QR Codes, but they have to be used sensibly.  Remember to keep your URLs short and point them at mobile friendly sites.

Touchscreen

It's quite hard to see throughout the episode. It just looks like a standard touchscreen device in a rubber casing.  I had wondered if the props team had created a dummy phone to be used.

What Phone?

Annoyingly, the phone is almost always out of focus.

Except for this shot.

BlackBerry Storm

Aha! That's the BlackBerry Operating System.  That means it can only be a BlackBerry Storm or Storm2!

The Storm2 doesn't have separate buttons on the screen - so this must be an original Storm.  The BBC have taken the logo button off the front to prevent accusations of bias or commercial influence, no doubt.

As an aside, look how the Doctor sends the photos - MMS!

MMS

Better hope those aliens don't have iPhones!

If you scan in the above QR code, it will take you to Twitter and pre-populate your status with "@edent". You can, of course, set it to be any message you like.

There are two key things to remember with QR codes.

1. Keep the information in them short to ensure readability.  The more characters you use, the larger the code and the harder it is to scan.  You can use URL shortners to do this if you have a long message.
2. Make it mobile. QR codes are scanned by mobile phones. The information is looked at on a phone screen.  You should always direct people to the mobile version of your site.  In this case - m.twitter.com

Browsing http://m.youtube.com/ at the bottom is a new link

A link to a QR code

Clicking on it takes you to a QR code

The QR code

It's using the Google Chart API to generate the code.

The Googe Chart API in use

Will this spur QR codes into the mainstream? I hope so!

I love online check-in because it means that I don't have to faff around at the airport, I can choose my own seat, it reduces queueing and, because I usually only travel with hand luggage, keeps everything running quickly.

What I don't like is having to print off a boarding pass. I'm either nowhere near a printer or I find myself losing the pass in amongst all the other bits of paper I carry. Then, when I get to the airport, the pass is scanned and thrown away! What a waste!

Lufthansa now offer a really good solution to the problem. As part of online check in, you can given them your phone number. They then send you a text like this...

Clicking on the link takes you to a 2D barcode and your flight information. Like this.

I've just used the pass to get through security without any problems (I'm blogging from the airport) and I'll update if they let me on the flight :-)

This is such a smart solution. Imagine all the millions of tickets that get lost every day. I'm much less likely to lose track of my phone - and if I do, I can always get a paper ticket reissued. True, my battery could run out - but it's no more of a risk than spilling a drink over my paper pass.

Hopefully other airlines will start taking this up.

Oh, don't forget to visit Lufthansa's mobile site; they have loads of information and a selection of free ringtones and wallpapers.

You can try Lufthansa's Mobile Boarding Pass with their demo page.

A part electronic animated advert offering a discount at a local store. If you text to 79990 you'll receive a Datamatrix code.

In this case, it's the store which is using the code; they'll scan it in before giving you a discount.

This is a pretty good way of distributing codes. The retailer gets your phone number and, when you show the code they'll get a good idea of what phones are popular so they can work out which accessories to stock. They can probably upsell you a newer mobile if you've got a brick.

I took a quick scan of the code on the advert using Quickmark - sadly, it was only dummy text.

I wonder how long it will be before supermarkets start sending these rather than physical vouchers.

Even Google is getting in on the act. They're putting them on print adverts they're running.

See this on a poster on a train, snap it with your camera and you instantly have the URL on your phone.

See this on a business card, whip out your phone, the contact is saved. QR Codes are, as with many things, big in Japan. They're catching on in Europe with loads of blogs dedicated to them.

Want to generate your own? Of course you do! Visit my QR Code generator - it even works on your phone, naturally!

Geeky Postscript.... I've noticed that many of the QR generators out there (I'm looking at you, Nokia) don't encapsulate data properly. Certain characters such as : / + etc need to be turned into special characters as per RFC1738 - many QR Code generators don't do this. This means that an international phone number like "+447....." comes out as "447....." and won't work on the majority of phones. My generator avoids this by using rawurlencode