Waiting and Waiting for QR Codes to Die

Somebody get me a ladder dammit! I can't let a QR Code go unscanned!

The QR Code is ridiculous, but mostly harmless (There are malicious ones out there, be wary).  What it is... or was, was a technological fad.  I've never been hurt by a QR Code, well I did stare at one until my eyes hurt trying to make the magic 3D whale or Knight Rider or whatever appears in those things that look like QR Codes. But some people are wishing for its quick death (Gizmodo)while others are finding some funny before the funeral (WTF QR Codes).  But as for me, I can't wait for the next great tech fad, like Facebook for cats.  Crap! it's already here.

The End of the QR Code and the Beginning of MVS

I can't say that I've been much of a fan of the QR code.  At first it was interesting because is was the latest technological ephemera and I had a new smartphone, but a year and a half later I don't do the QR code.  Actually, I've only used one 2-3 times ever. Museums have started using them (see earlier post), but they are always slow to implement new technology, and I doubt many people actually use them at the museum.  In fact less than 5% of the US public has even interacted with a QR code.  And  now infected QR codes are emerging that can lead to identity theft or hidden SMS texting charges.
Now there is a more visual replacement for the QR code called Mobile Visual Search (MVS).  This technology allows the user to take a picture of a product or log and you will receive information on that image within seconds.  With MVS you are connecting with an image instead of a strange blob of code, its more human and less abstract.  Also, MVS is more secure than the QR code and limits your risk of downloading a trojan or virus because you are looking at an actual image and not an imbedded code field.

Source Mashable 

Whither QR Code?

I go to museums on a regular basis and I am a very curious hominid.  However although I have seen plenty of QR codes incorporated into exhibits and I have an Android phone, I have only used one once (in a museum setting) and I can't remember what happened. (But in my defense I am usually running after a five year old)  So unfortunately I can't add much to this discussion.  But this is where my surrogate comes in, Hugh Wallace the head of digital media at the National Museum of Scotland, is not impressed. and feels that no digital media has been so "badly implemented and inconsistently applied" as the QR code in a museum exhibit.  So he has made it his job to improve the QR experience by focusing on "content and context" for the National Museum of Scotland's 26 Treasures Project which he believes will  enhance the physical museum experience.  Read more about how he has accomplished this over at The Feast Bowl.