The city streets and subway platforms of New York City are littered with QR Codes. Most, if not all that I have encountered and scanned, convey nothing more than a URL. They generally add no more information than is already evident on the paper or poster they are printed on. While they can convey just about anything the imagination wills into it in the form of text, where are the QR Code haiku's? Where's that nugget of movie trivia or a producer's peek-a-boo when scanning near the butt of a revolver in The Mechanic (2011) poster?
The beauty of these Borg-like boxy glyphs is the discovery that could happen when, between starting your smartphone's barcode scanner app and it registering the information, a new world ... a new dimension opens up into your screen. Where the naked eye sees a relatively random pattern, your mobile device sees syntax and delivers or translates it into effective meaning.
Better yet, code itself is capable of rendering an action or interaction like sending an SMS or making a phone call. Say hello to a graphic-turned-vehicle-for-communication. QR Codes represent doorways to the experience of connecting to someone else or some other idea. And yet, thus far, in my humble experience of them, they have not yet offered up anything more than a Web address. Boring!
Well then, I submit to you my own little portal to another dimension. It's one in the process of creation. But, scan this and hit send and you will be marked, flagged and recorded as having "crossed over." Then you can just sit back and enjoy the show. Are you bold enough to explore?
