Via MocoNews, the NYT has a case study on a test of mobile barcodes at an Ohio university. The test hasn’t proved very popular among students, despite the attraction of some of the services on offer, such as barcodes on bus stops that users can take a picture of to find out when the next bus is coming.

The big problems with uptake, as cited by the NYT:
- The cost to users isn’t clear. While the app and the service itself is free, prices differ depending on the operator, and whether users are on a flat-rate data plan. Even though the cost of sending the barcode and getting the info back probably isn’t particularly high, the fact that it’s not known up front makes people hesitant to use it.

- The CEO of the company running the trial created an uproar on campus when a presentation he gave in a class “devolved into sexist banter after he showed an image of a topless woman, back to the camera, who had a bar code on the back of her blue jeans.” Cue angry letters to the student newspaper, etc.

- And, of course, cost again. Some of the other services either are, or are perceived as, little more than advertising, leading to the inevitable comment from one student — “Why would anyone actually pay for advertising?”

So is the problem with the underlying technology (the barcodes), or the way they’ve been implemented and marketed? It’s a bit early in the game to damn barcodes, especially when companies are still figuring out how best to set them up and market them in the west.

Update: Note Raddedas from Techype’s comment on the MocoNews piece: “They actually needed to do the survey to work that out?

I think they have it basically nailed. All they need to do now is make the data cost reasonable and clear, the barcode reading mechanism transparent from inside the camera app and then find some compelling content to access.

Did I hear someone say something about thew diametrically opposite model in Japan, where they make lots of money because they’ve done this?”