By now you have probably come across something that looks similar to the image above: a matrix of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. This is a QR code, and it can be used to encoded text, a URL or any other type of data. These codes are amazing solutions for linking objects, places, or almost anything in the physical world to content and context on the Internet.

Using a QR code is easy. Just download one of the many QR reader Apps on your smartphone, open the app, and use your phones camera to place the QR code in the middle of the screen. The application will ask you if you want to go to the URL, and you just have to say “yes.”

This technology isn’t new, and was actually created to keep track of auto-parts, but now that these tags can be easily created, they take on a whole new meaning and use case. QR codes provide the ideal solution for linking the real world to context provided by the Internet. Restaurants can show patrons where to access their menu online, marketers can transfer their latest collateral to prospects without handing them paper, brands can show customers the latest deal right in the store, or companies can setup games at conventions to give attendees a chance to win a smartphone of their choice...WAIT WHAT!?!

More on that last one to come from Appirio at this years Dreamforce.  To get started scan the code above !