No, it’s not a screen shot from an old Atari video game.

Google has sent out stickers to hundreds of thousands of businesses, with Google’s QR code encoded with the URL to Google’s Place page, along with a healthy dose of Google branding. The way it works is that a person with a cell phone can scan the image, whether it’s placed on a website or printed material, and be taken to a Google Place page featuring information on that particular business.

Why is this a big deal? It’s something that’s simple for people to implement, both businesses and customers will find immediate value in it, and Google benefits by increasing the worth of their “Place Page” service, which Google Maps has already been reinforcing. But aside from being good for Google, it’s actually kind of good for us too. It’s a step up on the actually useful ladder of technological coolness.

The QR code itself was actually created by Denso-Wave (a Japanese corporation) in 1994, and is very commonly used in Japan. While not having caught on in a huge way yet on our side of the pond, my guess is that due to the explosion social marketing and online involvement, this may very quickly change.

Never slow on the uptake, conspiracy theory folks have already started in… a Google search for “google qr code mark of the beast” at the time of this post indicated 3,270 results. The main commentary right now seems to be here. (Most of the rest of the results seem to be either derivative comments or not-quite-related hits. But you know someone had to put forth the idea.)

If there is a conspiracy at Google, however, it’s only in that they’ve not set up a way for any business with a Google Place page to have their code. Google has chosen “favorite” places and mailed them the stickers, featuring the Google branding very prominently. If you’d like to take matters into your own hands, rather than waiting for Google to think of you as a best friend, you can go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com and generate your own code. I don’t see any reason you couldn’t create a code for your Google Place URL, but you could also create it for your main business website, your Facebook page, or your cat’s website.

Some interesting related links:

• Facebook Kicks Off Implementation of QR Codes
• Google QR codes to appear in a store window near you

“This extraordinary book explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquity—and reveals that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the generative Internet is on a path to a lockdown, ending its cycle of innovation—and facilitating unsettling new kinds of control.”  from futureoftheinternet.org

I haven’t read the book yet, just saw someone else tweet about it so checked it out – but I ordered me a copy at Amazon as it sounds like a very fascinating book. It’s the kind of thing I’ve thought about myself off and on the last few years, but never really took the time to pull into any kind of cohesiveness. Relying on the Web, as I do, for a living, the subject is important to me. But it’s important to you too, because there’s very few people who are not directly affected by the Internet in one way or another.

Should the Internet be “free” or commercialized? (I think it can and should actually be both.) At the heart of it, most really good ideas are based on ideals. Ideals don’t happen in nature. For example, “free health care”… eventually, somewhere down the line, someone has to pay for it. Should doctors not be compensated for their time and skills? Should researches not be compensated for the years of effort that go into new medicines? To make health care available for someone with no money, do we compel the doctor to perform medicine with no pay? Do we take money from someone else, in order to pay the doctor to give services to someone with no money? It’s not a simple situation. So something that is on the face a good thing is not necessarily practical. Likewise, while it seems to make perfect sense for the Internet to be freely available to all so we can share data and information, communicate and connect, how will the technology be paid for? Do Internet Service Providers have a moral obligation to provide service? Does Microsoft have an obligation to distribute computers with email and web software? There would seem to have to be an economic component for the thing to exist. Not having read the book, maybe my soap box routine is way off topic… but I look forward to reading it and will likely follow up with more afterward.

UPDATE (7/10/2010): The book is pretty interesting, I’m about half way through. However, if you’re not the “techie” type you’ll probably find it a bit boring. The author tends to drive his points home by repeating similar ideas in slightly different ways. For anyone in an Internet related business (and what isn’t these days?) I would recommend adding it to your list.

A browser is like any other program. It is usually best to keep it updated with the latest free patches and updates. Unlike other programs like Microsoft Word or Photoshop, any self respecting browser will never require you to pay to switch to the most recent major version (switching from version 2 to 3 perhaps), or even updates (upgrading from 2.3 to 2.4 for instance) . You can feel free to update all you want without having to shell out money.

Why does my browser need to be updated?

You’re probably pretty busy. You might not have time to keep your software updated. A browser should be no exception, right? The thing is, browsers are not like other programs. They are your portal to the World Wide Web, and most of the rest of the population on the planet. Thus, they potentially also have access to the scum of the world who would love to steal your personal information.

Keeping your browser updated has many benefits including:

1. The newest software is usually the most secure to hacking and other security threats. No software is ever perfect, but keeping your browser updated will help you stay ahead of the bad guys out there.
2. The newest browser software displays web pages the best without errors like things being positioned where they shouldn’t be. Keeping your browser updated makes it easier for us web designers to make websites. For instance, currently around 9% of people use Internet Explorer 6 (which is 2 versions old). This browser doesn’t display web pages correctly, and makes the web design process take longer because of additional troubleshooting we have to do.
3. Newer browsers add features to help save you time and make using your browser easier. And…it’s free!

What about my settings and bookmarks?

Worried about your settings and bookmarks being lost in the update process? No fear. All modern browsers will keep your settings and bookmarks automatically when you update. Some will even let you import bookmarks from other browsers you have on your computer during the installation process. Just pay attention to the windows that come up when you are updating.

It might not be your fault!

If you’re working at a company or organization that doesn’t have the money to have someone update their computers, or has to use older browsers for some reason, you may not be able to keep your computer there updated. In that case, I urge you to keep your own personal computer updated.

Well, how do I keep updated?

• Not sure which browser you are using or where to go to update it? A simple way to find out is to visit our business home page. When you get there, if you are using an old browser, a box will display telling you what browser you use and how to update it. Or, you can do one of the things listed below:
• If you are using Firefox (our favorite browser), it should inform you any time updates are available. If not, you can download the most recent version.
• Download the newest version of Internet Explorer.
• Download the newest version of Chrome.
• Download the newest version of Safari.

In marketing, being different is the way to stand out above the noise. Along those lines, I have to give give props to this Germany company who obviously succeeds in getting attention…

(The sound effects are obviously that, since any fly making that noise would have to weigh 10 pounds.)

We are by nature an imitative creature. It’s good to have the ability to learn from other successful people by imitating them. However, I think there’s more value in knowing when to break from the path that others have made. What you REALLY want to be is the person other people are wanting to imitate.

Anyone in their late thirties should be able to remember a time when cell phones were not as common as wallets. I remember when people would call you, and if you didn’t answer they just tried back later. No harm no foul. Nowadays, everyone cops an attitude if you don’t pick up the moment they call. People really are starting to expect other people to always be available.  You can tell I’m getting older because I said “pick up” the phone. Since you practically have the cell phone in your hand all day that’s not really an accurate phrase anymore. Though I do take a geeky old-person pleasure in hearing when people leave a message on their voicemail box like “hi, I’m away from my phone right now” or “I can’t get to the phone right now”… when you know with 95% certainty that the thing is right there in their pocket. (Or even better, “I’m on the other line”.)

Actually, what really sets me into the old fuddy duddy category is that I get crabby about always being available to everyone at anytime. I miss the days when a car ride was a time you didn’t have to have a conversation with someone, unless they were in the car with you. I miss the days when you didn’t lose your damn phone or accidentally put it in the washing machine, because it was stuck to a wall in your living room or kitchen.

Despite my crankiness, I find myself wondering what the future’s going to be like, even just 10 or 20 years from now. If you’d told me about cell phones when I was in high school, I’m not sure I’d have believed that we’d be walking around with little Star Trek phaser looking devices that would let us take pictures and video, send text messages, play games, surf the Internet, and sometimes take calls. Granted, it’s no hover car, but it’s still pretty darn scifi. Well, it was then.

What’s next for the Web? There’s an interesting tug of war between the increasing advancement of technology, and the shove of societal momentum. It leaves me not entirely sure that the future will come as fast as some predict. Despite having lived through many surprising changes (digital music, cell phones, the Web, etc.) I find it hard to envision what sort of technology people will embrace enough for it to become embedded in our lives.

My guess is that it’s technology morphing into what doesn’t appear to be technology. What I mean is that it seems that the more advanced we get, the more our technology mimics “the real world” around us. Programming languages are a perfect example. When I first learned to program it was on an Apple II+ writing lines of very linear code. A program was a list of instructions to be followed by the machine. In college I had to unlearn that and grasp the concept of Object Oriented Programming which fascinated me because of it’s similarity to physical objects. For example, if I’m writing a program that manipulates information about dogs, I would first create an “object” that described a dog in general terms. I can then create “instances” allowing me to easily define different types of dogs, without having to rewrite an entire program. It seems like the closer the technology comes to mimicking reality, the more powerful it gets. As we start to play with different mediums of computing (using the electrons in an atom to store bits instead of a hard drive) it seems we might begin to actually merge technology with reality. It might be that someday, all physical matter is part of a computer that can be programmed to do anything we want. Where along this road do websites become irrelevant?

A website is very often a substitute for you, or your business. It interacts with people on your behalf. Maybe what’s next is actual reproductions of ourselves, perhaps run by an artificial intelligence modeled on our own minds that can interact with any number of other people at the same time? It seems like the benefits of saved time would ensure this be at least as overpowering as cell phones. Or maybe instead of substitutes, we are able to finally merge with our technology and expand our capabilities enough to interact with anyone and everyone, all at the same time.

The role of designer, I believe, will always play a part… or developer, or programmer, or whatever you want to call it – a person who manipulates a medium to produce a desired result. The canvas and tools will change, but there will always be a role for the creative mind.

Just remember though, when I was your age, we didn’t have no fancy Internet and HDTV and DVD and MP3…. we had to actually interact with each other. And if we live long enough to see technology advance far enough, we’ll make it be that way again!!