I’ve just created my personal mobile barcode. It is known as a QR code and this configuration of black and white squares holds my personal professional details – my identity, in effect – which can be scanned via an app on a smart phone and will direct you to my website . You can also create your own barcode too for free via this link.

I learnt about it today from Alan McInroy of Business First Aid who has his personal barcode stamped on his business card, and I’m wondering whether I should do the same when I reorder a new stock in the new year. It is, in effect, an electronic business card and was a big topic of conversation at the very early Business for Breakfast meeting in Huntingdon and we were fascinated by it.

Alan told me that innovative marketeers Waitrose, B & Q and Wilkinson’s use these barcodes on their TV adverts (they need to be recorded and played back so you can freeze the screen to capture the image from your phone). I can see why the potential is immense as they can be used by advertisers on billboards and in published material too as a simple scan will take the reader straight to their website. It’s simplicity itself.

And I can also see it being used by aspiring politicians in the next general election, if not before, or by anyone like me who enjoys playing with the latest techie toys.

The free app I use for my downloads is i-nigma.