Realtors and Apartment Agents Use QR Codes!

I first noticed it when I was out looking for apartments and rental homes with a friend recently. Adjacent to the apartment agent's contact signage was a strange digitized, box-shaped code. I passed it off as odd inner-city kitsch one commonly finds plastered to the back of an urban light pole. I drove on until I found the code on another realtor's sign nearby. And yet another down the block.

Something in the world of tech culture was afoot.

"Quick Response" Codes

After seeing these bar code boxes show up at an alarming rate these last few weeks, I decided to look into them. Here's the scoop.

They are called "Quick Response" codes - "QR codes" for short.

In a world of younger tech users weaned on text messaging, laptop computers, and cell phone apps, QR codes are the latest fodder for those who seek the bleeding edge of tech. Do a search on the Internet for "free QR code" and you will find several sites that will create them free on the web. In seconds you can print one out and paste it anywhere you please - as a part of your email signatures, your traditional ad signage. Even on billboards.

Now Used in Real Estate / Apartment Advertising

The bar codes I was seeing on Real Estate advertisements around town is an appropriately high-tech way to deal with drive-by renters and buyers.

The only gadget needed to make use of this technology is a smart phone that can run "apps" (applications) such as an iPod phone or Android. Of course the phone requires a camera to "see" the coded box. Lastly, the phone requires a bar code reading app able to decipher the QR code.

How To Use It in Real Estate

When an interested renter or buyer drives by a location with a QR Code, all they need do is aim their phone camera at the sign and shoot. The bar code reader app downloads the info from the image and deciphers it.

Depending on what's embedded into the QR Code, it may display contact info, add a vCard contact (contact info possibly including a phone number) to the user's device, open a web URL address, or to prompt the user to begin to compose an email or text message.

In the real estate / apartment rental application that I've seen recently, scanning a QR Code obviates the need to have drivers stop to jot down the address and agent contact info. If the driver likes like a location, she or he just needs to raise the phone, aim, and capture the location's info encrypted on the code.

Word of Warning to Smart Phone Users

If you are on the phone end of the interaction, be careful when prompted to send a message, as you might not wish to share your personal information. Likewise, when downloading an app for scanning QR Codes, make sure it will not automatically share your information to the agent. Unknown apps have also been known to silently share personal information to spammers and others of this ilk.

Who Made This Thing Anyway?

The next obvious question is... Who invented the QR Code format?

As with many other cool gizmos out there, the nifty Quick Response Code was originally created in 1994 by some folks in Japan. The original application is credited to the auto giant Toyota, but the application has spread like wildfire for use elsewhere.

The "Quick Response" (QR) part of the code's moniker does not refer to one's ability to be able to respond quickly to email addresses embedded within. Rather, it means that the reading device is able to load and decipher the encoded information quickly.

Other Applications?

In doing a quick scan on the Internet and around town, I've seen that other folks have caught on to the QR Code fad.

Kids print their QR Code onto stickers and paste them everywhere around town to get others to hook up with them on Face Book and Twitter. Trendy night clubs "show their code" as a part of the advertisement media addressed to a younger tech-savvy generation. Tech geeks find ways to meet and bond through encryption.

You name it, it can be used for anything in social tech!

Get One Free!

As I mentioned before, you can get on the Internet and do a search for "free QR code" , create one for free. Let the world know exactly what you're thinking - in encrypted format, that is. Geeky!

Download My QR Code!

For what it's worth, I "show my code" with this article. Give it a shot - literally!

Have fun!