stats courtesy of ComScore.com
According to statistics published at ComScore.com, 20.1 million mobile phone owners in the U.S. used their device to scan a QR code in the three-month average period ending October 2011.
Wow! 20.1 million is a lot more than I expected! I have scanned a few QR codes myself and so far, I fail to see what the fuss is about.
For all the trouble of pulling my mobile device from my pocket, and conjuring up the QR reader app, I have often been rewarded with more commercial message, or a duplication of information about the product that is already printed on the page.
Maybe there are some valuable payloads lurking behind a few of the QR codes out there but I have not found many so far. I am sure the QR code works very well as a logistics tool for tracking inventory, and delivery, but as a marketing device, I give it a D-. If there are folks who stand to gain from the use of this device as a marketing tool, I would advise them to take heed.
I have an idea for a new, and improved, QR code that I would certainly welcome as a consumer. The QR code 2.0 would double as a crossword puzzle. When you scan the code you receive the clues for across, and down needed to work the puzzle. Here is an example. 
The design of the QR code certainly lends itself perfectly for this dual use. I picture myself and others grabbing up marketing material featuring this new QR code and retaining it in a safe place near my favorite chair simply for the puzzle value, as I do the LA times.
If you happen to take this idea and run with it and become a bazillionaire in the process, please consider shooting a small honorarium my way. I will be watching my junk maill for your marketing material.
