Finally a 2D Breakthrough!

It finally happened. The standardization battle shifted. The tide changed. Scanbuy's Scanlife application will now be preloaded on all LG camera phones. For the past few years, 2D barcode companies have battled to get shelf space on camera phones to no avail. They won small battles like earning the ability to be downloaded over-the-air, but no one was able to convince a handset manufacturer to pre-install their software...until now. The problem with 2D barcodes is that no one knows anything about them. No one knows anything about them because they aren't prevalent. They aren't prevalent because no one has the software to decode them. However, all this is going to change. "It's one small step for Scanbuy, and one giant leap for the 2D barcode industry."

2D barcodes are nothing new to Japan or Europe, but they will soon be the next biggest marketing tool for brands in the US. Every brand wants their customer base to interact with their brands. Whether it's a Flash microsite or a video game, brands want consumers to spend time with them, play with them, fall in love with them. Be prepared to get barraged with campaigns that have a "snap" call to action. No longer will you have to send in a form to "enter for a chance to win," you'll just snap a photo. Want to add time to your parking meter, just snap. Want to buy movie tickets, just snap. Want to do anything, just snap. The sky is the limit!

You heard it here first, "some brand is going to leverage this technology so well it will change the whole way marketers look at 2D barcodes." The race has officially commenced.

WAP it. WAP it good.

WAP is great. E-mail, Google, CNN, Facebook, ESPN or whatever you want right in your palm. As most "great" things go there is a catch. In this case, the catch is a mobile internet addiction. "Hi guys, my name is Ian, and I'm a WAPaholic." WAP is a drug, and to be quite honest I'm surprised the DEA hasn't created a new department to adddress it. As scary as it may sound, the first thing I did upon crossing the border from Canada to the US was check my e-mail. I was driving home, still had hours to go, but couldn't resist the temptation of checking my e-mail. I don't know what I was expecting to receive on a Sunday afternoon that could have been that pressing, but I love to check the mail. I hate that I need to check my mail all the time, but I do. I think it is an epidemic with my generation. We've learned from past experience that most e-mailers expect timely responses. Therefore, we've created a situation where it is "0kay" to check the mail whenever we wish. I know this pathetic dependence on technology will somehow rear its ugly head in my life at a later date, but what about the people that cannot afford WAP? This is where the rift exists. What is going to happen when people assume everyone has their e-mail all the time. Currently, I pay $45 per month to get an unlimited data plan from Verizon Wireless. Are these astronomical rates going to persist? Is bandwidth going to lose its value? Is a company like Google going to make WAP free as long as you allow yourself to be inundated with ads? I am so confused.

High speed mobile internet will one day be available to the masses. It has to. I've read about the future, I've seen movies about the future, I've even postulated my own future, and it always has people with WAP. So what is going to change to make WAP cheaper. In my mind, the only thing holding companies like Scanbuy, Slingbox and every company that uses the internet as a delivery method back is the lack of WAP proliferation. Will this expense just be something that people add to their list of essentials? I think that is the only way. I know that WAP will come down in price, but by how much?

Let's imagine it's 2020, everyone has a smartphone. Cellphones have been dead for 8 years. Everyone is logged on all the time. Exclusivity concerning the internet or WAP for that matter is dead like a Dodo. Everyone has access. If everyone is checking their e-mail all the time, and 85% of the country finds out about the newest celebrity overdose within 2o minutes are we all addicted to WAP? If everyone uses WAP are we all addicts? Were we addicted to radio and newspapers before TV? Were we addicted to landlines before cell phones? Yes and no. Yes because you can probably classify much of human behavior as "addictive," but no because unlike real drugs, there isn't physical repercussion when refraining from WAP. We're in a time of transition, where the "haves and the have-nots" are separated. As time marches on, we'll all be on an even playing field again, where WAP is as common as a car radio. I don't know how it's going to financially occur, but I know it will. I just know it.

2D Barcodes: So much potential

Potential is the word I use to describe the 2D Barcode, physical world hyperlinking, burgeoning industry. It really makes sense. Just the idea that you can buy, or learn more about whatever you want with the click of a cellphone button is so swanky and futuristic. People in Japan have been scanning 2D Barcodes for years now, and relatively no one has in the US. It's not that hard to believe because the US has a reputation for lagging a little behind in cellphone technology, but I am surprised no one has launched a really tremendous campaign using 2D Barcodes. Recently, Scanbuy and Sprint teamed up, placing Scanbuy's EZcode's in both Billboard and Car & Driver Magazine. This is definitely a big step in the right direction and hopefully the PR follow-up will continue to fuel discussions. However, I think something bigger is needed, something so big that Jay Leno, SNL, and every YouTube wannabe spoofs it. There needs to be a big celebrity endorsement. Whether it's a direct promotion e.g. (Jay-Z does a 30 second spot) or something more product placement-esque where Brett Michaels buys his contestants' flowers through a "Joe's Flower Shop" 2D Barcode tag on Rock of Love. There are so many impulsive purchasers in the world that can't wait to find another avenue to spend money. Even if the promotions are "over the top" just getting people talking about this technology will help adoption and usage. However, banking on "adequate carrier support" might be more a dream than reality.