I've written about it back in May already, and it's not yet as user-friendly as it should be, but I fully agree that something like barcodes could link the physical world to a virtual world in a mobile environment. There are so many opportunities here, can't wait...
"The NetImp piece argues that bar codes could be the real-world equivalent of a hyperlink - the break through thinking that gave us the web. Clicking on a physical hyperlink (bar code) can take you anywhere relevant in the cyberworld."
This will be IMHO one of the biggest mobile revolutions going forward. It might take a while to be effective. Key concern in this respect is the pricing model for mobile Internet offerings by operators. When fixed fee deals are common and the barcode/RFID phones and objects are mainstream, the inherent viral aspect of this revolution will boost its adoption even further. People will wonder what other people are doing with their cameraphones and the barcodes/RFID tags. And people doing it themselves will talk about it as it is a useful and entertaining innovation.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThis article reminds me of similar initiatives, especially in Japan....see below:
- DigitalConvergence.com (NTT DoCoMo; supermarket barcode scanning; this might relate to Yme's other post on the impact of online information on offline purchases)
- ScanBuy.com (Dutch experiment by T-Mobile & TU Delft)
- M-Ken (RFID tagging; Japan)
- Mediastick (Japan)
- GeoWeb (integrative concept for all these ideas)
- A.U.R.A. Project Microsoft (relatively new)
Yuri