On the death of the #qrcode & the FAIL that is Givey

I am a big fan of the concept of the QR code, I’ve written apps to try to use it in fundraising and I’m considering getting some QR code cufflinks made which point to my blog. I like the easy transition from traditional print media to online mobile media. The more I think about it, and discuss it with folks like @emersonp, the more I see the flaws that it has; it’s viewed, quite rightly, as tech for the sake of it.
Let’s boil down a nice little jus of what a QR code seeks to achieve: to move people from print media to online media. Now let’s think about how they can do that: type a URL, use a QR or other scanned code or use AR. They can also use textback services but as they generally cost money folks don’t bother so much.

So why would someone want to move from print to online media? I think the question answers itself because they’ve got to want to do it; this is not a push media it’s a pull so the print media has got to create a desire to make that transition. The method of transition has very little impact on creating that desire and is basically a barrier that needs to be lowered to the point where the desire is greater than the barrier. What I mean by this is that if you want some online content and it’s a huge hassle to get it you probably won’t bother unless you want it an awful lot, if it’s easy you’re more likely to bother. This is basic effort/reward economics.

So is a QR code easier than typing a URL? At the moment probably not. To scan a QR code you need to have a phone that can run an app, you need an app installed that will scan the QR (or whatever of the dozen competing formats there are) and finally you need to make the effort to fire up that app and scan the code which can be problematic depending on the location and print process.

Doing this with AR is also not necessarily simple. For a start it’s iPhone only so you need the platform, the app and the effort of bothering to scan for the content.

Compare that to typing in a short URL which works on any web enabled phone without an app. At the moment it looks very much like codes and AR need to be seamlessly integrated into devices before the barrier will be lower than the one presented by typing a short URL.

Meanwhile in the giving space the recent launch of Givey has given us a cracking example of a service that completely misses the basics of micro-donations. To make a small donation you want it to be so ridiculously easy that the barrier is extremely low. If the barrier is high you won’t bother donating that quid and micro-donations are useless unless in large volumes. To make a micro-donation with Givey you’ve got to get yourself a paypal account, sign up to Givey and then make your donations. The signup is long enough that a charity won’t bother pushing someone through the process for the sake of a quid and anyone who decides to go off and register is probably the sort of regular donor you want to tap up for a little more than a quid.

For micro-donations the bar has now been set by JustTextGiving. As a micro-donation service is works wonderfully because there is no need for a special app, no signup for the donor and is tax efficient for those who want to make the effort to fill out the gift aid form. When compared to the Givey SMS donation service it’s leaps ahead because it lacks the signup process and the costs.

The takeaway piece from this is similar to the conclusions made about social media – using the technology will not get your message out there or the donations rolling in – if you want to get likes or tweets you need to first create the content that people will want to share and then add the buttons to lower the bar for them to do it. If you want to get people to transfer from your print campaign to your online media you need to create a desire before you make it easy for them to fulfil that desire and finally if you want a micro-donation you’ve got to make it as simple as sending a text.