QR Code Cufflinks Carry Secret Messages?
Yesterday, while ambling around the Internet, I found myself at the intersection of four of my favorite things. QR Codes, jewelry, online shopping and design. Blend Creations, a husband and wife design team out of Canada, are offering “QR barcode secret message cufflinks” (pendants coming soon, I'm told).
The cufflinks are solid stainless steel, laser-etched with a 2D Barcode. Customers can choose from one of the three ready-made messages below or embed their own message or URL up to 31 characters long into the QR Code.
A - I love you
B - I <3 geeks
C - Barcodes FTW
note: FTW= For the Win, an internet expression of enthusiasm.
The cufflinks fall under a category Blend Creations calls “Geek Chic”. In this category, they also offer emoticon cufflinks and twitter pendants that can be engraved with your twitter handle. The jewelry is high-quality and well-designed, as indicated by the price ($110 for the QR code cufflinks). These are not gag gifts. These classy accessories are intended for people (like me) who celebrate and embrace their geekiness.
But why a diminishing moniker like “QR barcode Secret Message Cufflinks?” QR Codes aren't purveyors of secret messages, they are efficient, legitimate communication tools intended to bring content to the masses. I know what you're thinking, c'mon, Katrina, its just semantics. But is it? The words we use have power, they define our experience here on this planet. There are a number of Marketing Directors out there who would argue that QR Codes are most definitely not secret message carriers. After all, a marketing message isn't supposed to be a secret.
But then again, maybe it is the very secret message nature of the QR code that drives its success as a vehicle for information delivery. Maybe we're all just a bunch of kids running around with expensive, high-tech encoder rings that we also happen to be able to make calls on.
Either way, as soon as Blend Creations releases that QR code secret message pendant you can bet your ascot I'll be wearing one. What will it say? Well, that's a secret that only people who can get close enough to scan me will find out.
Blend Creations is running a January Giveaway where you may be able to snag a free twitter charmer necklace. Read their blog for more information.
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