Raise the bar: Tag your world with digital codes

New York – Imagine seeing your friends singing happy birthday to you on your mobile phone after you’ve scanned a barcode attached to your birthday card. Such interactions are now possible thanks to a new application called Stickybits.

Founded by Billy Chasen and Seth Goldstein, the app enables consumers to download unique codes from the Stickybits website which can then be printed and stuck on anything they like. Each barcode can be assigned specific digital information, so that once scanned by a smartphone, it connects to relevant online information.

As well as being fun, Stickybits can help at work. For instance, a barcode for your CV can be created, attached to a business card, and then read by a potential employer once scanned.

Advertisers are increasingly using QR codes (quick response codes) on billboards: passersby can scan the code in order to be connected with online information about the product or service. With Stickybits, anyone can customise and create connections between physical objects and the digital environment.

The mobile app market has exploded in the past 12 months, as LS:N Global has previously reported. Whereas they were initially marketing gimmicks, consumers are now really benefiting from them.