Today, we learned a little about Quick Response 2 dimensional barcodes. You may already be using these and not even knowing it when you print out your event tickets from Ticketmaster, etc. They have used traditional bar coding technologies for years but this new technology is gaining some popularity.

We just created our code here: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and then printed it out, and decoded it using our newly updated iPhone. APP goes on, camera activates and then you hear the funny little “Quick Mark” name… (we are using QuickMark reader downloaded from iTunes). And, there ya go… you are directed to our website at: http://www.onlinegraphics.ca just like that!

These are often used for adding web links to a printed page. When you scan such a QR bar code using a web cam or mobile phone camera, the QR reader application takes you to a Web site, a YouTube video or some other web content. QR codes are an easy way of sending people to a site without having to type a URL.

You can probably imagine the possibilities to help you market your products. Imagine creating individual QR codes for each of your Sales Team and printing these on the backs of your cards. Your clients may be intrigued when they see these unique bar codes and after scanning with their mobile phones, can be connected directly to each sales person via email, SMS or direct dialing functions available on most devices. Cool, eh?

QR codes contain information in both the horizontal and vertical axis. Compared to ‘regular’ barcodes, this allows for much larger amounts of raw data to be embedded. These can be numeric, alphanumeric or binary data – of which up to 2953 bytes can be stored. Only a part of each QR bar code contains actual data, including error correction information. The minimum dimensions of a QR code depend upon the resolving power of the cameras that are used to scan the code. According to a Kaywa white paper, it is recommended to use a minimum size of 32 × 32 mm or 1.25 × 1.25 inches, excluding quiet zone, for QR codes that contain a URL. This guarantees that all camera phones on the market can properly read the bar code. Changing the size to a width and height of 26 × 26 mm or roughly 1 square inch still covers 90% of the phones on the market. The latest camera models, which have improved macro capabilities, can however already deal with QR codes that are less than 10 mm (0.4″) wide and high.

How to read a QR code

To read a your newly created QR code, your phone needs the proper software (we used QuickMark from iTunes) or computer equipped with a web cam with the correct reader software. It will read and interpret the code so your browser can visit the website address.

(portions of this article were inspired from a great article posted at: http://www.prepressure.com/library/technology/qr-code

We recently stumbled upon the Google “wonder wheel”. When doing a quick check of the Google organics for one of our recent clients, we noticed this little beauty on the left side of the screen. Check it out by clicking on the “wonder wheel” link and you should see the wheel with 8 related key word phrases arranged around the outside.

If you click on any of these 8 links, you will be directed to other associated key word phrases. You should consider that Google values key words and key word phrases towards organic searches. This “wonder wheel” is basically a “key word prhrase idea generator” in the most basic sense. When you start clicking on it the various links, you will be presented with all sorts of related key word phrases you might consider using on your website as these are the related phrases that are being used by those searching Google. Why not give the fans what they want and how they want it?

Here is a quick screenshot for you:

Give this a try yourself. Record your results in some details separately and then continue testing with other key word phrases. Before long, you should have a good collection of key words and key word phrases that you can include in your page URLs, titles, description tags, H1 headers and body content to help maximize your on page SEO organics.

Have fun. We are.

Recently, we were lucky enough to receive a complimentary Whole Body Vibration machine from our partners at: Kwifit Canada in Kamloops, British Columbia.

4U 400 whole body vibration machine from Kwikfit Canada

We made a point of setting up this 4U 400 machine in the corner of our office in Markham, Ontario and started our “vibration training” with it about two weeks back. Starting slow at “vibration level 10″ we immediately noticed some different sensations after using the machine for about 10 minutes. Just last week, I took the machine all the way up to “vibration level 50″ (albeit it for only about 60 seconds) and one of our sales associates, Dan Blagaj, has been working out on the machine while wearing a 20 kilogram weight belt and doing pushups while vibrating!

I felt a distinct “tingling” and “itching” sensation in my lower legs after my last 10 minute workout on the 4U 400 and learned that this is due to the oxygenation in my blood with increased circulation. All I can tell you is that it feels great. I have suffered from some pretty regular back pain for many years and have now made a habit of vibrating for 10 minutes about one hour before “hitting the hay” for the night. So far, no back pain. I have also noticed that I generally get fatigued about mid-afternoon after sitting at my desk for many hours (of coding) in a row and the “mid-afternoon vibrates” have helped me to keep motivated into the early evening hours. The machine has basically replaced our coffee maker in the office! (well… that is a bit of a reach, but you get the idea…)

I would encourage you to look into one of these cool machines. Our relationship with Kwikfit Canada helped us to get ours but I know they have some great deals on right now… why not give them a call to work out a deal: 1-877-FIT-KWIK – you will be really happy that you did!

What is bit.ly

bit.ly is a utility that allows users to shorten a long URL, share it, and then track the resulting usage. For example, you can turn this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=New+York+Penn+Station&daddr=9th+Ave+%26+14th+St,+New+York,+NY&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&dirflg=r&date=11%2F12%2F08&time=4:13pm&ttype=dep&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=&sll=40.746175,-73.998395&sspn=0.014468,0.036392&ie=UTF8&z=14

Into this link:

http://bit.ly/CUjV

It’s much easier to include the link in an email or Twitter post without it breaking or taking up space. To see how many clicks that link has gotten and explore other info, simply append a plus sign to the end of the url:

http://bit.ly/CUjV+

It is Friday, June 11, 2010, the World Cup has started (we like England for the win) and our new look website launch is slightly ahead of schedule. Basically, all the information on the site is up to date and we are in the process of getting feedback from our valued partners.

We have received some nice testimonials over the years and working on adding them to the site right now. We have also started working on acquiring our first round of prizes for our first ever, Fans of Online Contest. Updates will be available on this “Blog It!” blog and on the website as well. (Hint) The first prize is a doozie!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 – World… meet the new and improved Online Graphics!

Woody House