Some people in the meeting industry really don't like 2D bar codes (such as QR codes and Microsoft Tags).

Why might that be? As with most new or emerging technology, there's push back and doubt as to the value of using 2D bar codes. Some grokked the potential and started incorporating codes into events--whether or not the potential was realized depends on how the planner used the codes. Others don't fully understand how 2D bar codes work or simply dislike the concept or have a way of doing things more suited to their styles.

A post this week titled "Why QR Codes Are Just Plain Dumb" caught my attention because of the strong headline and misinformation. Let's take a look at the arguments presented.

• most people do not have smartphones. In fact, according to Nielson ~60% of mobile phones in the US are feature phones so right out of the bat, you’re excluding the majority of mobile phone users in the US.

That data was true when originally released in August 2011, but the mobile tech world changes significantly on a daily basis. In fact, most Americans with mobile phones have smartphones, according to findings released from the Pew Research Center this month. But even if most Americans only had feature phones, they wouldn't be discounted from using 2D bar codes: most modern camera-enabled mobile phones (smart or feature) can interact with 2D bar codes.

• In order to actually use a QR Code, a user has to first download an app (some of which actually charge you!).

The process of downloading a bar code scanning app is presented here as insurmountably complex and inconvenient. It's not. This, of course, comes down to personal opinion. Many people find researching, downloading, installing and learning a new app to be simple and fun (again...opinion). Additionally, I discount the argument that devs of some scanning apps are outrageous to charge $0.99 for their work or that smartphone users are that averse to paying a buck for an app to augment their meeting and event experience. That said, this too is a non-starter as there are great, free 2D bar code scanners in the App Store as well as the Android Market.

• scanning a QR code in public can be weird and uncomfortable. Other attendees are bound to stare at them and think to themselves, “What on earth is he doing?!’ because it’s very likely no one else is actually bothering to scan the code.

Absolutely. But such strangeness is bound to occur with such leaps in technology. Society and human behavior is bit slower on the uptake. Anyhow, it doesn't hurt to be seen as strange in public. I've landed in some pretty interesting chats when confused strangers paused to question my scanning behavior. Technology prompts face-to-face encounters yet again.

By and large, the biggest impediment to widespread adoption of 2D bar codes is education. We have the tools (smartphones, apps) but apparently lack understanding of how to use them properly. The younger generation of workers (let's say born 1980+) doesn't have a problem whipping out a mobile device, installing a new app and mastering it in minutes. You can't just say, "It's too complicated," when it's second nature to those coming up right now.

The post does include a closing thought about which there is no room for argument:

• When smartphone operating systems make QR code readers a default function within the phone’s camera, there will likely be increased adoption of this tool.

Born out of the desire to share multiple photos from a smartphone at once--especially for use while at conferences and special events--Clark Wimberly, from the Android and Me tech site, developed the light-weight Photobooth app.

Photobooth allows users to easily (and without the addition of goofy, unnecessary special effects found on other apps) combine photos into a single file, just like a strip of pictures from those old school, real-life photo booths (anyone remember those?).

And better yet, Photobooth is free (right now, at least). Maybe future releases will somehow include a video component?

Anyhow, check out the awesome Photobooth app video below if you're confused or simply need some amusement.

Call it next-gen TV. With new technology unveiled at IBC 2011, you'll be able to share and view content on multiple screens and devices wirelessly throughout your home. Liberty Global Inc. presents “Horizon," which seamlessly integrates cable, web-based and personal content. 

Horizon is designed to put a computer at the heart of your digital home. As a multimedia gateway, it will create a wireless network that connects your TV to all of your personal devices—computers, tablets and smartphones. The TV interface uses 3D graphics and images that will bring content to life and make navigating instant and seamless. 

Horizon will also allow you to take you entertainment experience beyond you home TVs. Applications have been developed for smartphones and tablet devices (second screens) as well as web browsers that will enable a similar and complementary experience on different devices both in and out of the home. 

In the same way that apps have added a new dimension to the use of smart phones and tablets, the Horizon open platform for apps aims to do the same for TV. The Horizon ecosystem is an open and scalable platform on which developers can continue to improve and enhance the functionality for consumers. 

Liberty Global is also working with  international and national content providers, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, to develop applications for its standards-based app market. In this store, subscribers using Horizon will be offered a full catalog of web-based apps and widgets that will be seamlessly integrated in the TV user interface. Liberty Global is reaching out to potential content partners and third party application developers and will soon launch a software developers’ kit for Horizon, inviting them to join the already existing 60 content partners that have developed apps for the new platform.

Europeans simply can not (or will not) leave the Internet at home, according to new research that shows that 95 percent of holidayers jet off with at least one Internet-enabled device in Their Luggage. It seems that more than half of Europeans take at least one holiday each year, which means some 250 million people are well-versed in planning what essential items to squeeze into their luggage. 

New research from network services firm Brocade shows that half of Europeans plan to access the Internet at least once a day while on vacation and more than 40 percent actively seek destinations that offer always-on connectivity, from anywhere at anytime, placing a huge burden on service providers and leisure facilities to ensure adequate coverage in even the most remote of locations. 

A quarter of sun-seekers report that they have accessed content from the beach, and, amazingly, four percent have found time to log on in the jungle.

"The findings just go to show that in 2011, we are hugely connected, no matter what we are doing, and we fully expect to be able to get online from anywhere in the world," said John McHugh, vice president and chief marketing officer at Brocade. "With nearly half of the people we spoke to relying on connectivity to stream audio or video files while on holiday to enhance their relaxation time, businesses need to consider what the modern traveler wants. Whether it's a hotel or beach bar, failure to deliver online services could not only damage brand equity but also jeopardize the bottom line."

Internet penetration in Europe far exceeds the global average—67 percent versus 27 percent—and the number of users has grown almost 260 percent since 2000. Users today demand ubiquitous access to content, from wherever they might be, which has seen use of mobile devices soar in recent years. Market researcher IDC, for example, states that smartphone sales more than doubled year-over-year in the first three months of 2011, seeing almost 100 million devices sold. Add to this the fact that video and TV streaming will soon surpass Web and Internet traffic, and it is easy to see how modern consumer habits are changing, even in terms of planning vacations around Internet connectivity.

According to the research, typical holidaymakers take at least one mobile device with them, such as a laptop, tablet or smartphone. The majority of respondents rely on these devices to stay in touch with friends and family at home, with 40 percent freely admitting that they cannot be separated from their social media tools. And nearly a third of respondents use their devices on holiday for work reasons—such as checking e-mails, downloading documents or just being available to customers and co-workers—despite almost 60 percent admitting that it occasionally causes friction with their fellow relaxation seekers. Other key findings included:

• 64 percent of respondents were between 25 and 44 years old, indicating that the professional age group is driving the need for always-on connectivity
• Of the respondents, 84 percent relied on smartphones while on holiday, favoring ultra-portable devices over bulkier devices, such as laptops
• Half continued to use their devices (personal or work) abroad just as if they were at home, with more than three quarters regularly downloading personal e-mail and 48 percent accessing work e-mail/documents
• Only seven percent never accessed the Internet while holiday

You've seen Microsoft Tag codes throughout One+ for a while now. Need more inspiration as to how these can be used in the travel and tourism industries?

Project Manager Dunja Lavecchia for Italian Web agency Mediaki.it describes their first Tag case study, "The Colors of Turin," in the video below (if you already know the basics of digital tags, skip to 2:10 in the timeline). "For this project, we used Tag technology to tag Turin’s sites—main sites and landmarks—so that visitors, citizens, and tourists can access further information about the monument tagged in front of [them]. The tiles can be put on the ground, for example. We put this colored symbol in front of Turin’s main landmarks and sites to let people enjoy a new way of sightseeing. In fact, simply by scanning the Tags with your smartphone, you get a chance to [access] further information and interactive content such as photos, videos, and web pages."

That panicked feeling we get when the family pet goes missing is the same when we misplace our mobile phone, says a Kansas State University marketing professor. Moreover, those feelings of loss and hopelessness without our digital companion are natural.

"The cellphone's no longer just a cellphone; it's become the way we communicate and a part of our life," said Esther Swilley, who researches technology and marketing. 

This reliance on cellphones and other mobile technology in daily life is an interest of Swilley's and a phenomenon she hopes to explain.

One long-term study has Swilley looking at the attitudes people have toward their mobile phone and how these attitudes are influenced by a user's relationship with their device. That attachment, called mobile affinity, depends on whether an owner views their cellphone or smartphone as a device that's more fun than it is functional or vice versa. Gaining insight into this relationship could enable retailers to better understand the consumer mindset and could even make it possible to market to consumers individually based on their interests and beliefs.

To find and collect this data, Swilley observes how Kansas State students use and respond to their phone, as well as surveying students in her marketing course.

According to her data pool, the majority of participants are between ages 19-24, with 52 percent being male. More importantly, 99 percent own a mobile phone.

"Honestly I'm surprised this wasn't 100 percent," Swilley said. "People share other devices like computers, but cellphones are an interesting thing because we each have our own. That individual ownership is a really big deal for people."

Swilley found that a majority of the participants say they are attached to their phone because of its functionality as an entertainment device rather than as a tool that can communicate anytime and anywhere. So it comes to no surprise to Swilley that games are the most downloaded application for cellphones, according to app stores.

What is surprising to her is that study participants indicated their mobile phone allowed for little to no self-expression. This is odd because while mobile phone owners have said their phone is a part of themselves, it's not a way they express themselves, Swilley says. A future study looking at what makes mobile technology aesthetically pleasing may eventually answer this, however.

With the adoption of more smartphones and the introduction of apps, Swilley has noticed that for many owners, their phone's entertainment factor has become a source of pride and joy--similar to that of a lovable new pet.

“It’s sort of similar to when people had those Tamagotchi pets as children; cellphones are just the adult version of that," Swilley said. "People don't turn them off, are constantly playing with them and want to show off the neat things the phone can do.”

(Story materials provided by Kansas State University.)

Engineers at The Ohio State University (OSU) are working on software that helps people locate their friends in a crowd and make new friends who share similar interests.

The software, eShadow, made its debut at the IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS) yesterday in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It uses nearby wireless networks and smartphones’ wireless communication technologies to alert users that a friend who also uses the software is in the area and gives directions to that friend’s location.

Dong Xuan, associate professor of computer science and engineering at OSU, hopes that his research group’s software will also build bridges between strangers who share personal or professional interests.

At a business meeting, such as ICDCS for example, the software could remind a user of a forgotten acquaintance’s name, or help her make new professional contacts in the same area of research.

Since it enables face-to-face meetings, eShadow is a complement to online social networks such as Facebook, which excel at connecting people who are far apart, Xuan says.

“Today, online social networking has advanced dramatically, but our ability to meet people face-to-face hasn’t gotten any easier,” he said. “We want eShadow to close social gaps and connect people in meaningful ways, while keeping the technology non-intrusive and protecting privacy.”

The name eShadow comes from the idea that users input their interests into the software, and their smartphone broadcasts those interests to certain other users of the software—but only within 50 yards of the phone. So as users move, the broadcast follows them around like a shadow.

As to users’ safety, Xuan feels that, at least for some situations, meeting someone in person is safer than meeting them online.

“Online, people can steal others’ identity, or lie easily without detection," he said. "It’s much harder to pull off a masquerade in person."

Plus, users only share information which they want to share and can observe potential friends at a distance before deciding whether to introduce themselves. Young people, Xuan pointed out, are especially comfortable with putting personal information online and could readily adapt to using the software.

That said, people can be selective about who they wish to receive their eShadow signals. Users can select individuals from their phone’s contact list, and specifically de-select people as well.

Presently, the software works best when people move infrequently. Xuan and his research group are enhancing it to better accommodate motion. They are also extending it from Windows Mobile to support multiple smartphone platforms, such as Android, and exploring opportunities for publicly releasing the software in the near future.

(Story materials provided by The Ohio State University.)

When Google announced its first smartphone enabled with near-field communication (NFC), late last year, it felt to me like they were jumping the gun a bit. NFC was in its infancy in the U.S., after all. But a lot of activity (and funding) has since been thrust into developing the market, infrastructure and possibilities of using your smartphone like a credit or debit card--a convenient mobile payment system.

Now, Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, have been named as the first testing grounds for Isis, a joint NFC project from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon in partnership with local businesses. Isis will take flight early next year and, as long as the hardware is widespread (there are already several NFC-enabled Android smartphones and depending on the news story, the iPhone 5 may or may not have NFC--this seems to change ever week), NFC will be an outstanding technology for meetings and events.

The following video shows the variety of current possibilities for NFC...at a special event, no less.

For several months now, MPI's One+ magazine has included digital tags within the pages of each print issue. 

In case you aren't familiar with tags, here's how they work: you simply scan them with your smartphone (via camera and an app), and a video or other multimedia experience is launched at your fingertips.

For our May issue, we took the digital tag experience one step further, working with our partners at Disney Meetings and Disney Institute. 

Their tag appears on our front cover and connects smartphone-toting readers (in other words, pretty much all readers) with a video about the innovative content and offerings of the Disney Institute. Plus, the material ties directly to the primary theme of our May issue features: executive education. 

If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to scan your May issue cover tag and reap the full benefits of the issue's exec education platform. It's easy, we promise.

There's no doubt that mobile technology is changing lives and markets. In fact, a new survey says that 74 percent of smartphone users make a purchase because of their smartphones.

“The Mobile Movement: Understanding Smartphone Users"—a study from Google and conducted by Ipsos OTX, an independent market research firm—shows that 71 percent of smartphone users search because of an ad they've seen either online or offline; 82 percent of smartphone users notice mobile ads and 88 percent of those who look for local information on their smartphones take action within a day. The study featured 5,013 U.S. adult smartphone Internet users.

Let's take a look at the key findings:

General Smartphone Usage: Smartphones have become an integral part of users’ daily lives. Consumers use smartphones as an extension of their desktop computers and use it as they multitask and consume other media.

• 81 percent browse the Internet, 77 percent search, 68 percent use an app and 48 percent watch videos on their smartphone
• 72 percent use their smartphones while consuming other media, with a third while watching TV
• 93 percent of smartphone owners use their smartphones while at home 

Action-Oriented Searchers: Mobile search is heavily used to find a wide variety of information and to navigate the mobile Internet. 

• Search engine websites are the most visited websites with 77 percent of smartphone users citing this, followed by social networking, retail and video sharing websites 
• Nine out of 10 smartphone searches results in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc.)
• 24 percent recommended a brand or product to others as a result of a smartphone search

Local Information Seekers: Looking for local information is done by virtually all smartphone users and consumers are ready to act on the information they find. 

• 95 percent of smartphone users have looked for local information
• 88 percent of these users take action within a day, indicating these are immediate information needs
• 77 percent have contacted a business, with 61 percent calling and 59 percent visiting the local business

Purchase-driven Shoppers: Smartphones have become an indispensable shopping tool and are used across channels and throughout the research and decision-making process. 

• 79 percent of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
• 74 percent of smartphone shoppers make a purchase, whether online, in-store or on their phones
• 70 percent use their smartphones while in the store, reflecting varied purchase paths that often begin online or on their phones and brings consumers to the store

Reaching Mobile Consumers: Cross-media exposure influences smartphone user behavior and a majority notice mobile ads which leads to taking action on it.

• 71 percent search on their phones because of an ad exposure, whether from traditional media (68 percent) to online ads (18 percent) to mobile ads (27 percent)
• 82 percent notice mobile ads, especially mobile display ads, and a third notice mobile search ads
• Half of those who see a mobile ad take action, with 35 percent visiting a website and 49 percent making a purchase

That's a lot of numbers and info to take in. Bottom line, though, is this: If you don't have a presence on mobile technology, you may as well be dead to the world.