I’ve been discovering ways to make connecting with people easier, through a connection hub called ‘kimtag’ and the use of QR codes…
Kimtags
Imagine a situation, such as a business or networking event, where lots people are asking for your online details; your website(s), email address, Facebook address, Twitter identity, phone number and so on. Kimtag is a hub where you can register all your details on in one place to let people know how to reach you. In essence, it lists all your social media platform and website details on a single page. You can see how it works at www.kimtag.com (my own kimtag is: karenwisdom). So theoretically, this ‘one stop’ kimtag is all I need to give to people so they can connect with me (although I admit that I’m rather fond of my business card, so I’ll probably add my kimtag to that as well).
QR Codes
Kimtag helpfully also provides you with a free QR code (“what are these, and why do I need one”, I hear you ask). For the uninitiated, a QR (Quick Response) code is a matrix barcode; a two-dimensional barcode which can be read by smartphones and QR scanners. They were invented by the Japanese in response to the limitations posed by conventional barcodes, and have been used to track car parts. They can hold around 7,000 characters of information (vs around 30 in a traditional barcode). They are used to take a piece of information from media and store it in a smartphone, for use at a later time.
Individuals and businesses are generating their own QR codes for communicating key information to customers and other stakeholders. QR codes are already in use for promotional purposes by manufacturers and retailers; one of their most popular uses already is for customer discount coupons.
You can already see them on business cards, websites and promotional stickers, and soon search engines will be picking them up for indexing purposes and airlines using them for digital boarding passes.
Smartphones scan QR codes using the phone’s camera to pick up website addresses and contact details in an instant, using a relevant phone app. QR codes have huge potential for use in social media, including business/personal IDs for social media platforms, links to You Tube videos, events, offers and competitions. Whilst the majority are in black and white, there is a growing demand for colour versions, some with pictorial backgrounds.
Whilst getting set up on www.kimtag.com I took the opportunity to create a free QR code in a matter of seconds:
You can find out more about QR codes in this You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3lrcOhmp9g and on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
I am impressed that both of the above tap into the power of social media to help people to connect with you so quickly and easily. Whilst on a roll with new developments, I have also been trialling Google Plus, so will be reporting back on my experiences soon…
