They’re called QR codes. They’re able to hold much more data than traditional barcodes, and when you scan them with your smartphone, they can launch websites or link you to downloads for mobile applications.

Because of their versatility, businesses have started putting the codes on products and tags, and advertisers have started incorporating them in print and television ads.

But are people actually scanning them?

According to comScore, over 14 million American smartphone users scanned QR codes in June 2011.  That number, however, only represents approximately 6.2% of U.S. mobile phone owners.

While that isn’t particularly bad, it could and should be a lot better considering the only requirement is an Internet-connected smartphone — something 35% of American adults already have.

Plus, the survey indicated people who are already scanning QR codes are very comfortable doing so, whether they are at home or at the store.

If it’s so easy, why aren’t more people doing it?

Most people just don’t know what QR codes are for

Christina Pappas over at the Content Cocktail noticed a QR code on a tag attached to a plant at her local Home Depot. It didn’t have any sort of explanation of what it was or how to interact with it. She points out why this is ineffective:

“I am a marketer, remember, so I know what this thing is that’s printed on the card. Consider for a moment, I am my mother, for example. She would have absolutely no clue what a QR code is. Let alone that it had anything to do with the phone sitting right in her handbag.”

And that makes sense. If I didn’t know what a QR code was for, I would assume it was just another barcode meant to be scanned at a warehouse or at the register.

If the solution to that problem seems obvious, that’s because it is. Companies and advertisers need to clearly and prominently explain to consumers what QR codes are for and how they can interact with them.

Best Buy is doing it right, and other companies should take note

In 2010, Best Buy changed the design of their products’ fact tags. The most noticeable change was the inclusion of QR codes that, when scanned, would open products’ BestBuy.com listings.

Now, any smartphone-equipped customer can walk up to a product and within seconds have access to all the relevant information about the product — the specifications, accessories and even other customers’ reviews of the product.

Most importantly, Best Buy made their QR codes easy. On every tag featuring a code, there is a note indicating that it’s scannable. If you don’t have a barcode scanning app, the tag invites you to text a number to have a download link for one sent to you.

The same goes for the company’s weekly circular ads. Take a look at this one (left), for example.

It offers the ability to watch a trailer for the week’s featured video game, Super Mario Galaxy 2, right on your phone. The ad not only prominently calls out the QR code, but it provides three easy-to-follow steps to get scanning.

That’s how you do it.

Enhance, don’t replace

Being able to bridge digital and physical media using QR codes is just plain cool. But if they’re going to become a marketing staple, we have to ensure we use them effectively.

Remember the Home Depot tag? Christina found its QR code while she was looking for instructions on caring for that plant. When she scanned the code, she realized it was actually there in place of the printed instructions. That’s a problem.

If you are using QR codes to replace basic printed information that people expect to find — instructions, contact information, nutritional facts, etc. — you’re not helping or wowing your customer, you’re inconveniencing and possibly confusing them.

And that’s always a bad business idea.

Instead, you should be using QR codes to enhance your content. Look at the Best Buy circular I linked earlier. The Mario trailer doesn’t take away from the rest of the circular, it adds to it. It’s almost impossible to get an idea about what a video game is like from screenshots in a print ad, but thanks to the QR code, an interested customer can instantly watch the trailer and decide if the game is for them.

Do you use QR codes?

Have you ever stopped to scan a QR code in a store or in an ad? If you’re in marketing or advertising, have you hopped on the QR code bandwagon yet?

Why or why not?

Thanks to Google and the open-source font movement, you’re finally able to have something web designers have never had when it comes to font selection — flexibility.

A CSS rule called @font-face allows you to distribute the fonts you’re using on your website to users who don’t have them installed.

The basic coding is as simple as specifying the font family, the URL of the font file and, if necessary for your design, the font weight. But some complications arise when you start looking into browser compatibility. Unsurprisingly, Internet Explorer is the most troublesome.

Luckily, Google has taken care of the compatibility problems for you when you use any of the hundreds of beautiful, open-source fonts they have available.

And they’ve made their fonts very easy to implement.

Just go to the Google Web Fonts site, find a font you want to use on your website and click “quick use.” You’re then presented with any options available for the font and all the coding you need to get the font working — just copy and paste.

So what are you waiting for? Here are 10 great Google Font combinations to get you started.

Now, TwitPic founder Noah Everett has thrown his hat into the ring with his new Twitter-like social network, Heello.

The service experienced a quick influx of users when it went live, even without an official announcement from the company — a fact Everett was proud to point out.

But will Heello be able to keep those users around? I’m not so sure.

When you first sign-in to the service, it looks and feels like Twitter. In a lot of ways, it’s almost identical.

You can send a “ping” to your “listeners” up to 140 characters long. To reply to another user, you start your ping with @username. If you want to share another user’s ping with your listeners, you click “echo.”

Sound familiar?

There’s surprisingly little about Heello that sets it apart.

To its credit, the interface is clean and simple, a welcome sight for Twitter users. And Heello offers group private messaging, a feature Twitter lacks.

But other than that, there isn’t much to sway users away from Twitter.

Everett has promised there are planned features which will “make Heello stand apart,” and the interface wisely allows users to cross-post their pings to Twitter and Facebook, meaning users aren’t being asked to choose Heello over those networks — at least not yet.

So we’ll have to wait and see what Heello has in store for us. I have a feeling it will end up looking a lot like Pownce did featurewise.

Hopefully for Everett, it doesn’t meet the same fate. But he and Heello are fighting a significantly uphill battle.

Are you on Heello yet? Do you think it has a chance to succeed?

Last week, I wrote about Klout, a social network influence-measuring service. The company held an open-forum Twitter chat with users to introduce Foursquare and YouTube support, and to answer some user questions.

While Klout managed to answer most questions sent their way, some users were looking for more information on new network support and on how the service tracks Twitter retweets.

Today we got some of the answers we were looking for.

New networks

When Klout asked users what networks they would like to see support for, Google+ and Tumblr were the most heavily requested. Klout explained that Google+ support was in the works, but they glossed over the subject of Tumblr. Now, Klout has now introduced support for Tumblr and four other networks: Last.fm, Instagram, Flickr and Blogger.

There is still no word on support for WordPress, which was also requested by many users.

RT vs. official retweet system

Several users asked Klout if they score classic RT-style retweets and the newer, official-style retweets the same way. Considering retweets are a significant source of user influence, it’s vital that both get counted properly. Otherwise, Klout’s scores hold no value.

But whoever was running the company’s Twitter account at the time didn’t provide an answer.

Persistent Twitter user Jeffrey Mann emailed the company, and today he got a response from Klout employee Clayton, who explained Klout’s “system reads old-style RTs and the new RTs the same.”

Transparency is key

Opinions on Klout are all across the board — some consider it useless and arbitrary, while others find it to be a welcome way to track their reach across several social media platforms at once.

I find Klout useful, but it’s important for the company to maintain a high level of transparency with its users. We need to know what data is being analyzed and how it influences our scores.

Otherwise, users will continually question what’s being measured and will wonder if their scores, ironically, hold any clout.

What do you think? Do you think Klout can be useful?

That’s where Klout comes in.

The San Francisco-based company gathers data from social networks across the web and analyzes what they find, giving users a “Klout score” out of 100. The higher the score, the more influential the user.

For the most part, the company has relied on data from just the heaviest hitters in the social networking world — Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. But recently they added YouTube and FourSquare to the mix.

With these new additions, Klout employees were bombarded with questions from users about how Klout works, what effect the new networks would have and where Klout is headed.

To try and answer some of those questions, the company fielded a Twitter chat on Wednesday evening.

What they answered:

• They are working on incorporating Google+ accounts and Facebook pages in the near future.
• Instagram integration is “definitely high on the list.”
• Adding a new network will never negatively affect your score
• There is no penalty for not using a network.
• Follower counts, friend counts, and hashtag use have no influence on your score.
• They have no plans to allow multiple Twitter accounts on a single Klout account.

What they didn’t answer:

• Are “RT” retweets counted the same as official ones?
• In spite an overwhelming amount of inquiries about Tumblr support, they left us with only “we’re looking into this.”
• We got the same response for WordPress, Blogger, and similar services.
• How does FourSquare influence your score? Is it based on check-ins, mayorships, badges, friends?

Several users were disenchanted with Klout’s lack of response on some simple questions, such as how they score differently-styled retweets, but Klout answered many other basic questions about how their scoring works and what the company is doing next.

More importantly, they asked a lot of questions, probing the audience for what users would and would not like to see from the Klout in the future.

If you haven’t signed up for Klout yet, I recommend doing so if you’re a moderate-to-heavy social media user. It gives you excellent insight into your reach across the web and makes it very easy to see where you’re not engaging your network.

Plus, you get to take advantage of Klout’s perk system, where you receive special offers such as free movie tickets and product samples from companies and advertisers if you’re influential enough.

And who doesn’t love free stuff?

Update (8/10/11): Klout follow-up: network and retweet questions answered

The Internet powerhouse’s new social network, Google+, is the talk of the tech world. Casual and power users alike are flocking to the site to find out what all the hype is about.

Now, Google has to answer the big question which will ultimately decide whether Google+ sinks or swims: why should users post there instead of on established social networks like Facebook and Twitter?

After all, our friends and followers are already on those sites. It’s not exactly an easy feat to rebuild those networks from scratch.

Plus, we’re comfortable with our tweets and wall posts. When we log in to Twitter and Facebook, we don’t have to think about how we’re posting, we just do it. With Google+, we’re still trying to figure it all out.

Even tech pundits like Amber MacArthur have had trouble adjusting. “With Google+, I have two left feet,” MacArthur wrote last week. “Every time I log into my account, all I encounter is unfamiliar.”

Don’t mistake the unfamiliarity for poor design, though — Google+ has a few features that Facebook and Twitter users are sure to welcome.

Compared to its competitors, Google+’s design is slick, clean and to-the-point. Everything is accessible from the main page.

Google+’s “circles” have put Twitter and Facebook’s attempts at friend lists to shame. Sorting your connections into circles is as simple as a drag-and-drop, and you can control which circles you share any given post with.

But are these improvements enough? Power users seem to think so, but to the casual user, the Google+ stream doesn’t ‘feel’ much different than the Facebook news feed in use. Right now, it seems that most casual users are simply cross-posting their Facebook and Twitter posts on Google+, not creating new content.

And that’s the hurdle. How do they convince casual users that Google+ should be their network of choice, not just another place to repeat themselves?

If they figure that out, Google+ is built well enough to have staying power.

Otherwise, it’s just another Wave.

But more importantly, it takes planning.

After all, healthy weight loss doesn’t just happen. There are no secrets, no magic pills and no miracle diets. The only way to lose weight healthily and naturally is to make a sound plan and stick to it.

For me, the plan was simple, to eat better and exercise more. Almost 80 pounds lost later, I think it’s safe to say the plan is working.

And while there is no secret to success, there is one tool I couldn’t have gotten this far without – MyFitnessPal.

MyFitnessPal is a free calorie counting website, and it couldn’t be easier to use. It asks you what your weight loss goal is and how quickly you want to reach it (within reason, of course) and it creates a customized a daily goal for you. As you progress, it adjusts with you.

While there are plenty of calorie counting sites out there, MyFitnessPal stands out from the rest thanks to its easy-to-use mobile applications and its supportive, engaging community.

If you have an iPhone, an Android phone or a Blackberry, you can download the MyFitnessPal app and take it with you everywhere you go. This has been a lifeline for me time after time, especially when friends want to go out to eat. Just type a restaurant’s name into the app and it gives you a list of meals they serve from MyFitnessPal’s constantly updated food database.

When you get back home and check the MyFitnessPal website, you’ve got access to a community full of supportive and understanding people who, like you, want to lose weight and live healthier. When you succeed, they’re there to give you a pat on the back, and when you’re struggling, they’ll help you get back on track.

It’s much easier to lose weight when you know you’ve got people in your corner, especially when they’re fighting the same fight you are.

So if you’re struggling to lose weight, consider giving MyFitnessPal a try. Calorie counting might sound tedious, but MyFitnessPal makes it as easy as it could be, and more importantly: it works.

And when you walk into a store and fit into clothes you never even dreamed of fitting into, that feeling is worth every calorie counted.

“Live every week like it’s Shark Week!”

Leave it to a comedy to get me thinking philosophically.

The first time I heard Tracy Morgan deliver that line on NBC’s 30 Rock, it resonated with me.

For a moment it was just funny and ridiculous, as 30 Rock usually is, and then I realized it was the most brilliant metaphor I’d ever heard, and I instantly adopted it as a mantra for my life.

At its simplest, it’s a reminder to seize the day, and to live each one as if it’s your last, but it’s more than that.

In life, as in the ocean, you’re either the prey or the predator.

If you’re constantly treading water in life, you’re either going to get eaten or drown, whichever comes first. Even when situations seem the most dire, you have to keep moving forward.

And if you want something, you have to be aggressive and go get it. If you sit there and wait for it to come to you, you’ll never get it. Someone who wants it more than you and is willing to fight for it will get it instead.

So try living every week like it’s Shark Week, and remember that nothing is impossible.

Well, except for dinosaurs.

The former University of Florida superstar quarterback was drafted by the Denver Broncos with the 25th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had pick number 10.

Leading up to last year’s draft, Tebowmania was in full swing in Jacksonville. Many of Tebow’s obsessed adoring fans created t-shirts, started websites and even signed petitions begging the team to take him. They used the Jaguars’ ticket woes as ammunition, with one t-shirt from the now-defunct Draft15.com claiming “if you draft him, we will come” (punderful, right?).

When the Jaguars passed on Tebow in favor of defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, those fans weren’t happy. And they made sure you knew it, too.

Over a year later, that feeling still hasn’t subsided for some, as evidenced by a Lake City Reporter article making the rounds on Twitter this morning entitled “Same ole’ Jags.”

In the article, writer Brandon Finley tells his readers “some teams are fine being mediocre. Count the Jacksonville Jaguars as one of those teams.”

He goes on to slam the Jaguars for their recent free agent acquisitions, claiming they’ve “picked up other team’s leftovers” instead of “big-name” free agents.

Finley doesn’t bother providing any details on the “leftover” free agent acquisitions, ignoring the fact that the addition of linebackers Clint Session and Paul Posluszny has credible sportswriters considering the Jaguars’ new linebacker corps the best in the AFC South.

After all, it’s not like the Jaguars’ defense, ranked 28th in the league last season, could use any help, right?

Finley then goes on to criticize the single-season signing of former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Jerry Porter back in 2008 before proceeding to share his real motivation for the article: his adoration of Tim Tebow.

He describes the Jaguars’ passing on Tebow as the team’s “biggest blunder.”

Why?

Because Tebow is a “local product” full of “good moral fiber,” and because the player the Jaguars drafted instead has “a name that many fans can’t pronounce.”

Well, I guess you can’t argue with that.

But at the end of the day, Tim Tebow is on the Denver Broncos, not the Jacksonville Jaguars. If one player’s presence on a team makes or breaks your fandom, you’re not much of a fan to begin with.

Let him go, it’s time.

Photo: Valentin Mueller

One of my good friends just got her first Mac this week, and talking about applications she should install got me thinking about which ones I use everyday and couldn’t live without.

Caffeine – Free

The simplest application on the list is also my favorite. One click of Caffeine’s icon in your menu bar prevents you Mac from going to sleep, dimming the screen, or starting a screensaver. Click it again, and your Mac’s display settings go back to normal. It’s a simple concept, but it’s infinitely useful, especially whenever you’re watching videos or giving a presentation using your Mac.

Google Chrome – Free

There’s certainly nothing wrong with Apple’s Safari browser, but Google Chrome has the edge. What stands out the most about Chrome is that it’s fast. VERY fast. It launches faster than any browser I’ve ever used, and websites render remarkably quickly. You also do all your searches right in the address bar, which might sound odd at first, but once you get used to it, you realize it’s usefulness and won’t ever want to go back to having separate search and address bars.

Growl - Free

Growl is a notification system, allowing other applications to notify you of certain events via unobtrusive pop-ups. For example, iTunes can tell you what song it just started playing, iChat can let you know you just got an instant message, and Transmission can tell you is just finished downloading a torrent. Growl is fully customizable, from the looks of the notifications to how they behave (on an app-by-app basis, which is especially handy).

Tweetie – Free (ad-supported) / $19.95 (ad-free)

With so many Twitter applications to choose from, it’s tough for one to stand out for the rest. But Tweetie does just that. Not only does it have an elegant, Mac-like design, but it does all the little things right. URL shortening and image sharing are built right in. Conversation mode allows you to easily keep track of back-and-forth replies, and direct message conversations are threaded for quick viewing.

Blogo – $25 (21-day free trial)

I’ve tried nearly every desktop blogging application available for the Mac. Coming from Windows Live Writer on the PC, my bar for a blogging application was set quite high, and Blogo was the only application that met all my needs. I needed an application which made it convenient to write the post, made it simple to add and manage images, and that would allow me to preview exactly what my finished post would look like. Blogo does all that, and more. My favorite feature, though, is the fullscreen mode, which makes it easy to concentrate on writing.

Cinch - $7

When Microsoft introduced Windows 7, there was one particular feature that stood out as remarkably useful, Snap, which allows users to quickly place windows side-by-side or have them fill the screen. Apple’s OS X operating system, as excellent as it is, has no feature like it. Fortunately, there’s Cinch, which essentially replicates Snap’s features on the Mac. The company that makes Cinch, Irradiated Software, also offers a similar program called SizeUp which offers a few more features and takes a keyboard-centric approach to window management.

Alarm Clock 2 – Free

There’s more than a few alarm clock applications out there. Robbie Hanson’s is easy-to-use and offers all the features you need, with none of the ones you don’t. Alarm Clock 2 sits in your menu bar for easy access. It allows you to set as many alarms as you need, and they can be either one-time or repeating. You can use the program’s buzzer sound as the alarm sound, or if you’d rather customize how you wake up, you can use any song you’d like. My favorite feature is “Easy Wake,” which slowly increases the alarm volume over a timespan you select. It also supports the Apple remote for pressing snooze!