The November episode of “The Hobson and Holtz Report” features Neville and Shel discussing these topics: MeWe and WT:Social are among the latest crop of social networks offering serious privacy in an attempt to dethrone FacebookA new tool lets brands remove negative comments from paid social media postsQR codes have made a comebackAI writer completes writing what you startedTelcos hope RCS will inspire you to give up WhatsApp, Messenger, and other third-party toolsPing raises $13 million to … [Read more...] about FIR 189: The first thing we do, let’s ease timekeeping for all the lawyers
QR code
Shell’s big QR code experiment
When I called in to a Shell station in Reading on Saturday to fill up my car with fuel, I noticed this banner attached to the side of the pump I was using. "Fill up and go here with our speedy payment service," it says. "Powered by PayPal." And there's a big QR code in the middle of the sign. It's called Fill Up And Go and the usage idea is simple: You’ll be able to use it through the Shell Motorist App. Select a pump on the forecourt, enter the maximum amount you wish to spend, then scan … [Read more...] about Shell’s big QR code experiment
Making a QR code useful isn’t rocket science
A technology that's often subject to much criticism is QR codes, those square symbols that enable a barcode scanning app on your smartphone to interpret the data they contain and deliver information to you when you scan them Much of the criticism is about how QR codes are presented by those who create them, often in ways that are simply lame or even mind boggling. But when you see a great example of how a QR code is being used to convey useful information on a practical level, that's when … [Read more...] about Making a QR code useful isn’t rocket science
Imagine what the Bank of England could have done with its QR code ad
A quarter-page ad by the Bank of England in yesterday's Telegraph caught my eye primarily because it contained a QR code. The print ad informs you that the £50 note featuring an engraved portrait of Sir John Houblon on the reverse side will be withdrawn from circulation at the end of April. The ad also includes a phone number, email and website addresses, plus a QR code that you'd typically scan with a barcode scanning app on your smartphone to bring you something - further information, … [Read more...] about Imagine what the Bank of England could have done with its QR code ad
Buy a real pint with a virtual currency
A British pub lets you pay for your pint with Bitcoins: [...] The system is quick and effective. The bar staff press two buttons on the till and the screen displays a QR code. The customer opens their digital Bitcoin wallet, takes a snap of the screen and confirms the payment. The staff press one more button and the transaction is complete. Snapping the QR code in a crowded bar could be a challenge but in a quiet pub it is faster than paying by card. It's an imaginative use of a QR code. … [Read more...] about Buy a real pint with a virtual currency
McDonald’s new packaging, a QR code and telling brand stories
The next time you visit a McDonald's restaurant, especially in the US, check the packaging for information about the nutritional value of the food you're about to eat. While you can read concise info on the packaging itself, more interesting perhaps is a link to that information in the form of a QR code that you scan with your smartphone's camera; that action then brings information from a McDonald's website to your screen that you can read and also share with your social networks. As many … [Read more...] about McDonald’s new packaging, a QR code and telling brand stories
What if Brancott had got it right with their QR code?
QR codes attract a great deal of commentary in marketing and communication circles, and pretty critical more often than not. I have a strong interest in QR codes, not so much about the technology of them: it's far more about how marketers and others use them in their efforts to engage with consumers and others. When I'm out and about, I keep an eye out for examples of how businesses use QR codes, looking for examples good and bad (hopefully, more of the former). I encountered one today … [Read more...] about What if Brancott had got it right with their QR code?
Could NFC make the business card really useful?
I have a thing about business cards. These little rectangular pieces of stiff paper or card seem to me to have outlived their analogue usefulness in today's digital world. What are you supposed to do with one when someone gives you theirs? You somehow have to get their contact info from the card and into your contacts list in Outlook or Evernote or whatever tool you use. That usually means typing it in unless you're an fan of OCR software (and who regularly uses that for something like … [Read more...] about Could NFC make the business card really useful?