QR codes make debut in The Oklahoman
Last Thursday, we quietly started something new in The Oklahoman.
We published our first QR code (quick-response code) as part of our organized effort to build a better bridge from our printed newspaper and the multimedia that’s available on NewsOK.com. With a smart phone like and iPhone or Android device — or with an iPod Touch — users can now see all the multimedia elements we have on NewsOK without getting up from their chair as they read the newspaper.
The first codes appeared in the sports section on Thursday. We added the Weekend Look section on Friday. We added the Business section on Saturday. On Sunday, those little codes were everywhere. We weren’t quiet about it anymore.
I even had a story on Page 2-A on Sunday, where I said this:
We are trying to find solutions for our readers who want everything at their fingertips. We know The Oklahoman’s print readers like to hold the newspaper in their hands. And we know that a lot of those readers also want to interact with our content — videos, photos, commenting, etc.
Here are the quick facts:
- We’ll have a code in the right rail of each section front. Scanning in those codes will take readers to a list of every story in that section and the videos, photo and more that are associated with them.
- We’ll have codes placed sporadically with some of our stories every day. Those codes will take readers directly to the multimedia that’s associated to that particular article.
- We’ll have codes with our daily poll question on Page 2-A. You can vote on the poll question right there.
- We’ll have codes in the weekend sports sections that drive users directly to our mobile Gameday pages for OU and OSU football.
- You can download The Oklahoman’s free iPhone app to scan these codes. We have a built-in scan-code reader that works great. But you can also use any generic scan-code reader applications that’s available for your device.
Enjoy the codes. I think you’ll find that it allows great access to all our content with just a swipe and click on your phone.
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Thanks for making QR codes more popular. Once everyone understands how powerfully useful these are perhaps more people will understand how to use them.