And I’m seeing a common mistake in how they’re used: Often, they don’t take users to a mobile-optimized landing page…

The basic value proposition of a QR code is that it makes it easier and faster for people on the go to connect with information. Specifically, it bypasses the need to have to type a URL into the web browser of a mobile phone — an activity that’s notoriously annoying, error-prone, and time consuming. Instead, you use a scanner app to take a picture of the QR code. It then uses that information to launch a web page in your phone’s browser.

(List of QR code scanner apps for just about any kind of smartphone. They’re usually free.)

In my experience about half the time the resulting web page is not mobile optimized! That is, I must pinch-and-zoom to magnify the text, and then scroll horizontally or vertically to view all the content on that page.

Not exactly the most efficient way for someone to experience information on a mobile phone.

Here’s an example: At a comedy show last night, I picked up a postcard featuring a QR code, promoting something called Quizitter. Try going to that page right now. If you have a smartphone handy, try using the QR code below. Where does it take you? To a full web page where you have to use extra manual navigation effort just to figure out what they’re talking about.

And bang, you’ll lose a lot of your mobile audience right there.

quizitter

Postcard I saw last night promoting an online checkin service. Try this on your mobile device. Notice any problems?

They must have heard murmurs of frustrations over their slowness in finalizing the HTML5 standards, and have came up with one of the most innovative ways to address it – by dropping the “5″ version and call it a “living standard”.

Read: HTML5 to Drop the “5“

This makes sense from a standards-management perspective, and I guess it’s less embarrassing…  But I think it might make it harder for people who aren’t hardcore insiders to track the kind of developments that make HTML5 interesting, especially for mobile web projects.

Basically it’s a series of well-chosen infographics, which make their points well.

At the end, there’s this call to action:

Time For You To Take A Stance.

Do you want an internet with more openess and less censorship?

47,347 People

Have Said YES.

…I clicked on the “say yes” button. And…

Nothing happened.

Huh?

Perhaps the creators — whoever they are, they don’t say — are trying to make an ironic meta-point: “You can’t actually do anything about net censorship, so your opposition is futile.”

Or maybe they got so enamored with creating a perfect design experience that they forgot about the action part? Which would be a damn shame.

Or maybe something about the “Say Yes” button is broken?

Either way, it’s a great windup and pitch. But the connection is missing.

Got accessibility? Mobile-friendly sites also help disabled users

It was sparked by a new Pew report on problems that people with disabilities have with accessing the net. I found a couple of interesting twists.

1st: US DOJ has proposed new ADA regs for web sites, including “public accommodations” (hm, could include news sites?)

2nd: Making a site mobile-friendly goes a long way toward making it more accessible.

This subject is near and dear to my heart since one of my best friends, who is mostly blind, has faced significant struggles in getting access to services, information, education, and opportunities online and elsewhere. That has definitely hurt not only his quality of life, but his health. And he’s fairly tech-savvy! This is a problem that needs to be solved, and going mobile-friendly is one main way to start.

Here’s what one of these tools can create:

cloud1

More about what Windy Citizen is doing on this front…

Blagojevitter: This page tracks, in real time, Twitter updates that include the terms blagojevich or fitzgerald. This page is a widget from Monittor, a free service that offers a fairly slick interface for custom Twitter tracking. Monittor widgets are slightly more complex to configure and install than ordinary widgets, but it’s not rocket science. (I actually hadn’t known about Monittor, so kudos to the WindyCitizen for putting it on my radar.)

Windy Citizen editor Brad Flora selects particularly important or interesting items from this widget to retweet via the WindyCitizen Twitter account. (Example from this morning.)

Blagojevich complaint word cloud: The graphic above was created with Wordle, a visualization tool that analyzes text and turns it into art. Here, the source text was the 78-page official complaint against the Illinois governor. In a word cloud, the biggest words appear most frequently in the source text. Even though word cloud images are static (not interactive, which is why I didn’t mention Wordle in my interactive visual tools session last week) this approach can provide insight into a document — even on a subconscious level. Plus, it’s attractive, intriguing, and fun.

…And, of course, Windy Citizen set up a Blagojevich blog.

Which other sites or services are using online media creatively to present news and commentary about this controversy? Please provide links and info in the comments below.

(NOTE: I originally published this on Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits blog.)

Seriously — people want to use transit sites on the go! That’s kind of the whole point of transit.

My local transit agency is RTD Denver. Go check out that site. It’s hard enough to navigate on a computer with a big display and a real keyboard. Just try it on your phone! Torture!

And if they offer a mobile version, they sure don’t make that obvious.

Got some especially good examples of mobile-friendly public transit sites? Give your examples in the comments.

Hey, iPhone and iPod Touch users: What do you think? Is this an easier way to access Contentious.com on those devices? Please comment below (if you can stand typing much on that touchscreen keyboard!)

The anodized aluminum of the Macbook Pro is notoriously easy to scratch, and difficult to clean off sticker gunk from. I like laptop stickers, and change them from time to time. (Oh, if you’re looking for cool stickers, go to Sticker Giant.)

My hardcase is by Speck Products, which makes it for several Mac laptop models (including the Air) in several colors. For a 15″ Macbook Pro, cost is $49.95 plus shipping You can buy it directly from Speck or through Amazon.com and other online vendors.

Today I see they’ve just released a purple model. That’s the color I wanted in the first place. But the red has kind of grown on me, I think I’ll stick with it.

Thanks to TechGRL for the tip!