By "this thing" I mean the thing in the picture at left that looks like an overhead shot of a poorly designed hedge labyrinth like the one Jack Nicholson gets snowed-in in The Shining. Or a crossword puzzle designed by a drunk. Or a Rorschach test interpreted by Picasso during his Cubist period. You've probably started seeing them on ads and other places.
And, no, they're not a square barcodes. They're more like a barcode square(d) or cubed or some other geometric increase which explicates a QR code's expanded and versatile capabilities.
Simply, a QR code is a digital shortcut your smart phone can take to online content or many other kinds of information. It's primary usage in ads is to replace difficult-to-remember and awkward-to-type Web address, or it may be encoded with some other data.
What you do is download a QR code reader from your phone's application store/market (most barcode scanners also can read QR codes). Once installed, open the QR reader app, aim your smart phone camera on a QR code, and you're taken to whatever information is embedded in those mysterious black splotches.
Where you can go
For instance, a site called QR Comic has rendered my favorite short story, Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question," into a 28-part QR code series. (Yes, you can just download a simple text file of the story at Multivax.com, but where's the fun in that?)
You can be taken directly to Android apps, such as those found at Techlivez.com, rather than doing a search of the Android Marketplace.
Put one on your business card and let new acquaintances simply scan the code to digitally store your contact data (and save yourself a card).
You can read QR codes right off a computer screen. They can be silk screened or embroidered on t-shirts and caps.
Simply put, they can printed on and scanned from anything – and I'm guessing you'll start seeing them in more and more places.
And, yes, you can make your own QR code. Just click on this Google search for "QR code generator" or try the QR code creator at Delivr.com, which also offers some expanded business-oriented capabilities, or the generator at ZXing Project.
For instance, I created the QR code at the upper left. It's actually a – oh, why not just scan it and let me bring a little joy to your Web surfing.