Dan Frommer over at Silicon Alley Insider reports that Google's latest effort to break into newspaper ad sales includes printed barcodes that can be scanned by readers to send them to web sites. That sounds very similar to failed plans of late-90s Internet/technology startup Digital Convergence, who saw their :CueCat barcodes appear in newspapers and magazines all over the US in 2000 to a fairly indifferent response by users.
To be fair, Google's barcodes do have one major difference: they don't require a separate piece of hardware. One of the biggest hurdles to :CueCat's adoption was that it required people to buy a :CueCat reader (and handheld barcode scanner). Though they were often subsidized by the newspapers who had deals with Digital Convergence (or perhaps by Digital Convergence itself -- I was never really clear on that), they still never really caught on with users. With the proliferation of cell phone cameras, however, Google can count on users being able to scan codes with a device they already own.
Another change since the late-90s when :CueCat made its debut is that users are less concerned about companies harvesting information about the sites they visit. One of the main concerns many users had with the original :CueCat, was that Digital Convergence could theoretically compile a database of every web site people visited by scanning barcodes in newspapers and link it to personally identifiable information (since each reader had to be registered).
These days, it is generally accepted that Google already knows all about which web sites we visit, and many users voluntarily share their bookmarks, lists of their possessions, and their entire life stories on social media sites like del.icio.us, LibraryThing, or Facebook. So privacy concerns might be less of a hurdle for Google this time around.
Of course, that's not to say that Google will have no issues rolling its printed barcodes out to consumers. In order to make these ads attractive to advertisers, they need to get the software onto the phones of a large audience -- that means making deals with handset manufacturers and mobile carriers, which as Frommer points out, means figuring out how to split up the revenue pie.
Google might have an easier time selling the idea of scannable printed URLs this time around, but I'm not holding my breath. Eventually, as in Japan where they are very popular, these types of scannable barcodes could offer a lot more functionality than just sending you to a web site -- like sending you relevant coupons or allowing you to pay for services.
Note: It looks like I wasn't the only one who was reminded of the :CueCat (actually, I suspect most people around in the late-90s were). A number of commenters to Frommer's post have also discussed it. As Henry Blodget chimes in, "Digital Convergence (owner of Cuecat) was the single worst idea I heard in Bubble 1.0--and that's saying a lot." It sure is...
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Android will make the distribution of software much easier. Uptake may depend on the success of that platform.
Posted by: Jason | January 29, 2008 12:08 PMsensationalist title. qr codes are nothing like mobile phones.
mobile phones are connected to the internet and on your person at all times. google will have no problem courting advertisers with this.
Posted by: Stefan Constantinescu | January 29, 2008 1:21 PMi meant qr codes are nothing like cuecat's
Posted by: Stefan Constantinescu | January 29, 2008 1:22 PMTelldodo presents an alternative to print barcodes: print keywords that are easy to remember and easy to type in. Just enter the simple key-phrase at telldodo.com and get back the original URL, however complicated it may be. For example: “light saber toy”
Posted by: Tell Dodo | January 29, 2008 1:31 PMWhile the CueCat was a terrible idea for a business, I still wanted one (hey, free barcode scanner!), but was unable to score one in Vancouver. I was just thinking about this at Xmas when I gave my wife a pen scanner so she can grab references for her dissertation while studying. What do I come across that same week in my co-op recycling room but a CueCat someone is throwing out. Digital Convergence tried to force users of the device to work through their site and software by obfuscating what is scanned, but their simple scheme was broken long ago. A quick Google search and I've got a Python script which reads the scanner. Works great!
Here's to failure!
Posted by: Dethe Elza | January 29, 2008 1:57 PMThe difference between this and CueCat is that this already works. As you concede at the end of your article, QR codes are hugely popular in Japan. That means the concept works. And now that Google are producing their own mobile phone operating system it's not difficult to see a plan coming together.
Posted by: Monty | January 30, 2008 1:56 AMReadWrite Web wrote in it's 2007 (Mobile) Predictions:
6. QR codes will start to enter retail markets.
See:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/2007_web_predictions.php
Has RWW totally changed in it's opinion?
I think Google QR Code entry in 2008 is even more exciting as it puts the QR Code on every mobile techie's agenda.
***
For a rant about Joel (on Software)'s comparison to CueCat, see my post at http://mobile.kaywa.com/p898.html.
I don't know if Joel was the first to start this meme, but I think there happened some easy copying for the ones who came after.
If you must, you better compare CueCat to proprietory 2D-Barcode Readers, but not to an open ISO-standard which can be created by anyone with immediate benefit and comes already preinstalled on phones (Nokia Nseries, Asus, Sharp etc.), a standard which is also supported by IATA, OMA, GSMA and major telcos. And a standard which is a huge success in the most advanced mobile country in the world: Japan.
Posted by: Roger | January 30, 2008 6:58 AMOver here in Germany recently a national newspaper and a magazine introduced Q/R-codes to their print products.
I still find that it is much easier to enter an ID into a mobile internet page than using a barcode scanner. Even with the 5MP autofokus camera of the N95 it takes a couple of seconds to read the barcode.
More on this topic at
Posted by: Gerd Kamp | January 30, 2008 8:58 AMhttp://relations.ka2.de/2007/11/10/q-r-codes-and-print/
I find your article interesting. I noticed someone else tied Google to the Cue Cat the other day. You may already know this. If not, Neomedia bought the Digital Convergence IP fostered from the old Cue Cat idea. Neomedia Technologies has developed a mobile reading platform for consumers/web users. Paperclick, Qode, and now the NeoReader. This platform allows users to click on physical world objects and get instant information in one click.
The physical world objects could be, logos, trademarks, keywords(Google's main source of income), 1D barcodes(EAN UPC, etc,), 2D (QR DM, Aztec,), slogans, RFID, billboards, etc.
Location based. It is all there. So, who should Google go after next?
I would think that they want it (revenue) all for themselves.
Why pay a licensing fee?
It would help eliminate click fraud in the mean time.
The Neoreader can be found at:
http://www.neoreader.com
It will read EAN, UPC, QR, data matrix, Aztec codes. Proprietary codes cannot be read with their reader.
Brands can have anything interactive.
Who will help develop the next interactive mobile mouse for consumers?
I sure would love to walk down the street and say the "keyword" in the mobile browser and go right to a web site, get information, or a schedule, in one click!
Also working with MC2 to gain traction and standards for mobile readers.
Posted by: Swampthing | February 4, 2008 9:48 AMNeomedia did NOT buy the IP that DigitalConvergence created for the CueCat. It is presently held by the original founders (myself included) of the concept of machine readable code + user data = unique web site.
D:C was not about tracking users habits, but giving them a unique experience based upon code read and their demographics, geographic location or other factors. Now days your TiVo tracks you, supermarket has reward cards and Google turns in search results on parties to government agencies. We were ahead of the curve in a time when phones had no data connectivity nor cameras.
The technology that DigitalConvergence created is now more relevant than ever, as the computing devices have caught up with our idea of print to web.
But do not put them in the same class as Neomedia's attempts.
Dave Mathews
Posted by: Dave Mathews | February 5, 2008 8:43 AMCo-Founder Digital:Convergence and inventor of the CueCat
www.cuecat.com
Whilst you may feel that QR codes (or other 2D proprietary) codes are a throwback to circa 2000.....please explain why is it that Americans have never been smart enough to adopt them.
I just dont get what the holdup is.
I think it's a fantastic technology and if the USA carriers pulled their finger out and installed readers on all camera equipped handsets (rather than worrying about their bottom line and how they can screw the customer one more time) then American customers could enjoy all the benefits of physical world hyperlinking as well.
Cheers,
Posted by: Dean Collins | February 13, 2008 5:25 AMDean Collins
www.Cognation.net