AuctioneerTech Auction Podcast

QR codes must be scanned with devices

Hello and welcome to the AuctioneerTech Auction Podcast. Today is Tuesday, 24 May, 2011. My name is Aaron Traffas, and today we’re going to talk about QR codes and Microsoft Tags – the little squares of gobbledygook that, when scanned, take you to a website or display text on your device. We’ll talk about when to use them and, more likely, when not to use them.

There has been a lot of buzz over the last couple of years, mostly from the tech and marketing industries, around the QR code and its slightly less ugly cousin, the Microsoft Tag. Last month, Google ended it’s QR code initiative for Places, opting instead to focus on near field communications. It was an exciting announcement for me, as I feel that it’ll likely start to decrease the number of QR codes that clutter the world around me. Here’s why this fad is over-hyped and why you shouldn’t use QR codes and Microsoft Tags for marketing.

Convenience

Branding

Real estate

Image by hawaii via Flickr

Aesthetics

Why are QR codes so popular? The press has over-hyped the importance. Like the possibility of using social media for business, most small business owners are jumping aboard this bandwagon without regard for the appropriateness of the medium. They’re trusting that this new-fangled thing will transform their bottom lines. There is a similar parallel between the social media fad and the QR code fad. Businesses are spending a ton of money to build these tools at the expense of much more important aspects of their branding. Businesses are adding their Facebook vanity URLs – sometimes above their websites – to marketing. I’ve written before about how much more important your website is than social media. Likewise, conveying your website – hopefully an easy-to-remember and short .com address – is the most important thing you can do in your marketing materials, certainly much more important than taking up space with a QR code that few people will use anyway.

Another reason QR codes are sometimes used is for deep linking. Like a lazy web designer uses a sitemap to fix poor navigation, some QR codes take you deep within a site to a specific page instead of to the home page of the site. It’s possible that this is an appropriate use for QR codes, and I’ll address that possibility in a moment, but most of the time this use isn’t as valuable as other approaches to getting a viewer to a specific location. If you’re trying to take the viewer to a specific page on your website, the most appropriate way is to make the page short and memorable. If you’re doing a charity auction for the Boys and Girls Foundation and your website is abcauction.com, rather than using a QR code that doesn’t specify a destination and, as such, offers no incentive to remember a domain or specific page, use the space to advertise abcauction.com/boysandgirls – it’s easy to read, easy to remember, and I believe it will generate a much more valuable response.

Is there a time when QR codes are appropriately used? QR codes are utilitarian tools, not marketing methods, and I believe that we auctioneers can find an appropriate home for QR codes or Microsoft Tags on our item tags or stickers. When we have an item that’s listed within an auction on our site, it’s likely that we have some kind of tag or sticker that has the item’s number. An appropriate use of a QR code or Microsoft Tag would be to include one on that sticker that links directly to the item (not the auction) on our website. Make sure you specify what the code will do, like printing “View this item on abcauction.com” – it’s succinct and also conveys your brand along with the QR code.

Well that’s it for episode 22. Did I miss something? Am I wrong about something? I know there are some QR code fans out there who will object to at least something in this episode. My motto is that if you agree with everything I say, you haven’t paid attention. Please leave comments on the transcription for this episode on auctioneertech.com. It’s much better than replying on Facebook or Twitter – remember, it’s all about unification of the brand.

You’ve been listening to the Auction Podcast from AuctioneerTech. If you have suggestions, questions or comments, or are interested in being a guest, please let me know by going to www.auctioneertech.com/feedback and leaving a message. You can also post public comments about this or any other episode, as well as find show transcriptions, on the Auction Podcast page of auctioneertech.com.

Thank you for listening, now go sell something.

The post Auction Podcast Episode 22 – Stop with the QR codes appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Dwayne Leslie from Global Auction Guide Media Group visits with Aaron from AuctioneerTech about the upcoming launch of the new Global Auction Guide website and the new features it will offer auctioneers. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 14 – Global Auction Guide appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Steve from AuctionZip visits with Aaron from AuctioneerTech about the current and upcoming features provided by AuctionZip to auctioneers. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 13 – AuctionZip appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Julie and Billie Jo from Satellite Prolink visit with Aaron from AuctioneerTech about the marketing products and services that they provide to auctioneers. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 12 – Satellite Prolink appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Scott from NextLot visits with Aaron from AuctioneerTech about the NextLot Internet bidding system. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 11 – NextLot appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Randy Bregman from NAA Cashless Commerce talks to Aaron from AuctioneerTech about the NAA’s credit card program and how it can benefit auctioneers. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers’ Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 10 – NAA Cashless Commerce appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Ellen from CUS Business Systems talks with Aaron from AuctioneerTech about CUS and some of the features it offers in addition to auction clerking and cashiering. Recorded at the 60th International Auctioneers’ Conference and Show in July, 2009, in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 9 – CUS appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

John Economou from Bidder Central talks with Aaron Traffas from AuctioneerTech about LuJohns Enterprises and Bidder Central. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 8 – LuJohns Enterprises appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Kurt from TASS Software talks about the TASS auction software platform. Video recorded in July, 2009, at the 60th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Overland Park, Kansas.

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 7 – TASS appeared first on AuctioneerTech.

Transcript

Hi, I’m Aaron Traffas with AuctioneerTech. In this episode of the Auction Video Podcast, we’re going to look at the right way to wrap and store cables.

Now, I’ve seen cables stored a lot of different ways, most of which, quite frankly, make me want to cry. Before we get to the over-under method, let’s take a look at the wrong way to roll cables.

The knot method

I have here an XLR cable, sometimes called a mic cable. Some cheaper microphones may come with a cable that’s already attached or one that has a 1/4″ end on it, but all professional quality microphones use the XLR standard. It has a male and female end, each with three pins on the end of it. Now, because it’s a signal cable, it doesn’t carry a lot of current, and so the conductors inside are smaller and more fragile than other kinds of cables, which is why this first method of cable storage is especially hard on signal cables. I call it the knot. You hold the cables on one end and then you find the middle. You fold it back on itself, then you tie it in a knot. This puts a lot of stress on the conductors inside the cable. I attribute this to the high rate of cable failure for those who use this method.

The around-the-arm

I remember being shown this method when I was very young. It’s easy to teach, easy to learn – it’s also easy to end up with a knotted mess. This method adds a natural twist to the cable as you go along so that it’s harder for it to lay straight when you use it. This is the around-the-arm method.

Over-under

We’re now to what I believe to be the only right way to roll your cables. It’s called the over-under, and it’s how professional sound engineers roll and store their cables between concerts. Start with one end of the cable – whichever end has the velcro or wire or string or whatever cable management accessory you prefer. Start with it pointing towards you and grab it like you’re going to stab yourself with it. Take your other hand, and with your thumb down, grab hold of the cable. Then pull it up and in into a small circle. Next, take your hand and with your thumb up, wrap it over. The first one is the under, the second the over.

Now, for most cables, I like a wrap that’s just a little bit less than the size of a coffee can. For larger extension cords, you’re probably going to want a larger loop. For smaller cables like network or USB or some earphone cables, you’re probably going to want a much smaller loop.

Now, remember that if you’ve been wrapping your cables the wrong way for a long time, they’re going to have some natural twists and turns in them. The first time you try this, you might have some knots due to a cable that’s learned the wrong method. If you do it this way enough, your cables are going to be nice and straight and true and you’re going to be able to do some fun things.

Now that second throw was not a knot, it was just a poor job of me throwing it. So, when you throw, make sure that you’re holding on to the end that you started with in the first place that has the cable tie on it. Hold on to it in your hand, grab the cable and give it a nice little under-handed toss and it will fly straight and true every time.

That’s it for this episode of the Auction Video Podcast. If you know of any other bad ways to wrap your cables, or if you think you have a better one, let us know in the comments. Thanks!

The post Auction Video Podcast Episode 6 – Wrapping cables with the over-under method appeared first on AuctioneerTech.