*Why is there yet another entry in the too-crowded 2d barcode biz? Well, I dunno really, except that this one is in color. And it's from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/sep09/09-16tag.mspx
"The power of Microsoft Tag
"A Microsoft Tag is a new type of bar code, optimized for reading on mobile phones, with symbols that can form trillions of combinations. And that’s what gives Tag its power. When a consumer downloads the Microsoft Tag application and then snaps a picture of a Tag, the application performs an action, such as opening a Web browser and taking the consumer to a URL or dialing a phone number. Consumers can receive multimedia information, discount coupons, purchase options—virtually any consumer marketing or sales activity. Consumers can also make their own Tags, linking them to their Facebook pages or simply sharing their contact information in a new and fun way.
"The Tags can be small enough— as small as the size of a dime—to be used nearly anywhere in an ad or other marketing material. And because their colorful appearance can include a company logo, (((I wonder how THAT works))) Tags can fit into posters, billboards, brochures, display ads, point-of-purchase displays, catalogs, and more.
"Embedded bar codes that provide a consumer with more information aren’t entirely new. (((Well, no.))) But the high-capacity bar codes created by Microsoft Research feature several innovations. Microsoft Tags are the first to use color to make the Tags both more efficient and more attractive. They can include logos, photos, branding, or other marketing content directly in the Tag. They work with the relatively limited, fixed-focus cameras on many mobile phones, so the snaps of them can be blurry or at an angle—expert photography isn’t required. Lastly, Microsoft makes the process of creating and using Tags easy for companies and consumers alike.
"To deploy Tags, marketers need only fill out a form on the Microsoft Web site, including the URLs or phone numbers they want their Tags to contact. Microsoft automation produces the Tag in a form that can be inserted into promotional materials. Tags can be in color or black and white, to accommodate a broad range of marketing uses. Consumers simply go to gettag.mobi to download the Tag application, and then they’re ready to snap away...."
*Okay, great, I guess. Now check out this Tag demo. Does it strike you, as it does me, that there is some dark Gothic High-Tech objective correlative here as this poor Microsoft mobile hacker is trying to maneuver around inside the vast, confusing Microsoft campus itself? I think I could find some use for a service like this – I totally get it about the scalar need for buildingware, and GPS is useless indoors. This could be a valuable navigation augment, and a nice way to transition from the streets into private properties.
*But did you count how many taps, queries, schedules and contact lists this guy was forging through, while just trying to move through his own building?
*This is the first post on BEYOND THE BEYOND that is categorized as both "Spime Watch" and "Augmented Reality," which may or may not be a sign of some giant weird convergence of something-or-other. Better take a paper map along with all those screens, friends.
