Scattered throughout the latest edition of Anthill you may notice a series of black and white boxes.
No, they are not crosswords on crack. Rather, Anthill has partnered with QMCODES to create one of Australia’s first ‘Interactive Print’ magazines.
What does this mean?
Always the early-adopter, Anthill is giving you, our readers, the opportunity to download extended articles, podcasts, vodcasts and other items of rich multimedia content directly from our print magazine onto your mobile phone.
For example…
The story on Dominic Carosa on page 96 is supported by a podcast that can be downloaded directly from the magazine to your mobile phone.
The article about angel investor Jordan Green on page 31 is supported by an extended article, which also can be downloaded to a mobile phone.
The story about the Cool Company Awards on page 39 is accompanied by the vodcast (above).
Next time you stumble across one of these unique barcodes (above) in Anthill Magazine – or on a billboard, on clothing, anywhere – take a snap of the image using your mobile phone to reveal additional content.
We promise that you’ll be seeing a lot more of these strange squares, called QR Codes (Quick Response Codes), in all areas of your waking life.
They’re already so prolific in Japan that school kids are now sporting T-shirts that link to their own personal websites. Japanese pensioners are using them to check out when their bus is coming by scanning the code next to the timetable.
They are now even available on McDonalds’ packaging in if you want to know the nutritional value of a Big Mac!
Of course, Anthill Magazine (along with our advertisers) will be adding new features built around QMCODES’ technology that will allow you to post comments, participate in polls and share articles with friends, simply by using your humble mobile.
What now? All you need is a 3G internet enabled phone with a camera and a data plan.
As an added incentive to try out QR Codes (as if you needed any), text the word ANTHILL to 0429 883 688, download the barcode reader, tell us in 25 words or less how you would use QR Codes in your business and you could win a very stylish 16GB iPod touch. So, go get scanning!