Enhancing the connection between print and electronic media

"Physical World Connection" is a term frequently used when describing the value of mobile barcodes. The idea is that anything in the physical world can be tagged and associated with information about it, probably stored in electronic form. The connector is the barcode because it provides the means of accessing precise information about a physical world thing.

Barcodes are uniquely positioned to be an effective physical world connector, primarily because there are so many of them. There is potentially infinite supply of codes; therefore, an infinite number of physical objects can be tagged.

This article reviewing the mobile versions of well known newspapers is an interesting example:

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20081202/WIRELESS/812029997/-1/ALL. I've created a code that links to the front page of the New York Times. Give it a scan!

Now imagine this code posted on the front page of today's NYT. I want to read it but I have to leave the physical paper behind for some reason. I scan the code and immediately have mobile access to much the same content.

Pretty good you say, but how can it be even better? I'll describe that in the next entry.