Easy steps to create QR code with Kaywa QR code generator.

QR codes are sophisticated barcodes that can be read by smartphones. QR stands for Quick Response and originated in Japan in the nineties where the codes are widely used. Here is a link to the interesting story of QR code development. QR codes are much more useful than regular bar codes because they can store many types of information such as website URLs, contact information, SMS messages, short plain text, calendar events, advertisements and much more.

Since I work for a college, I thought about two useful QR code usages, which I plan to implement. The first one is a QR code with my professional information, which I already created and attached to my email signature.

 

Here it is:

I also plan to create and post QR codes in all smart classrooms and computer labs at my college. That way, students and faculty with smartphones and QR code readers will be able to quickly access a website containing more information about the rooms such as technology installed, scheduled training sessions, reservation procedures etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below you will find simple steps on how to create a contact information QR code using a QR code generator. You will also learn how to attach a QR code to an Outlook email signature and how to scan a QR code.

• Go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ (first five codes are free)
• Check Contact (Beta)
• Check My personal contact QR code
• Click on Sign up & Continue

At first, I was going to sign up to the site with my Facebook account, however I was informed that Kaywa will receive my Facebook’s public profile, friend list and email addresses. Therefore, I decided to create a new Kaywa account. I was asked to choose a username and password, and provide my email address and date of birth.

• In my contact information, I uploaded my profile photo and provided the following information: first name, last name, job title, company, address, phone numbers, URL of my web site and my email address.
• Next, since I plan to add my QR code to my email signature in Outlook, I downloaded my new QR code as png.
• To add the QR code to your email signature, please follow the instructions on the Microsoft site.
• To scan a QR code with your Smartphone you will need an app. I downloaded a free QR Reader app from the Apple app store.

Simple explanation of Pay Per Click

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is an advertising model used on websites where advertisers pay their host only if their ad is clicked on. One of the biggest search companies that provides Pay-Per-Click advertising is Google. Other important digital advertising platforms that offer PPC programs are Microsoft, Yahoo!, Ask Networks, AOL or Baidu in China. These companies don’t put ad banners on some specific websites; instead they return an ad as a search result that is specific to the item for which people search.   



Paid Ads are marked with green pen

     For example, if I would like to rent out my Lake Michigan cabin for vacations, I could use Google or Bing to advertise my property. The ad will show up when people are searching for "vacation cabin".  Along with “vacation cabin”, I can provide Google with a list of more specific keywords such as “waterfront cabin rentals”, “Michigan cabins”, “cabins near Chicago”, etc. for which I would like my ad to pop up. In addition to providing a list of keywords, I can also rate their efficiency. In this case, it would be more beneficial to rate "waterfront Michigan cabin" higher and "Michigan cabin" keywords lower.
     One of the PPC challenges is that we do not know all the possible queries that prospective customers may use to search for vacation rentals. To help with this problem, the search engine companies use IR (Information Retrieval) techniques to assist users with optimizing their search requests.

     The extra web traffic to our landing page can be very positive and valuable to our efforts, but it can also be problematic. Many people may consider my waterfront property too expensive, too small or too basic, and their click on my ad can cost me money. One of the solutions is to provide to the search company a list of keywords for which I do not want my paid ad to appear.

     As important as it is to provide the right keywords, it is also important to create interesting ads which will attract the right customers and repel the wrong ones.
 "What is PPC? An Introduction to Pay-Per-Click Marketing" video:

General Characteristics of User Goals in Web Search

     People use search engines for many different reasons, and almost all searches are performed with a specific goal in mind. 60 % of all web searches are related to a search for a product or service, and 40% of all searches are related to non-informational searches.
     According to software scientists at Yahoo, there are three different search goal categories:

• navigational search
• informational search
• looking for a resource search

     The navigational search goal is defined as people trying to access a specific home page of the organization they have already identified. User queries containing the name of a specific organization or institution are considered navigational searches. For example, a single search for DePaul University, Chicago or the Louvre would be a navigational search. However, user searches for information about famous people are not considered navigational, because they return different media or fan sites, as opposed to a specific site. Interestingly, navigational queries do not dominate user searches.

The informational search goal is when users try to find any information about their search topic. This could be an answer to a question, advice, or information about a subject matter. The informational search can be divided into five different types: directed, undirected, advice, locate and list:

• A directed informational user search targets a specific topic with a closed or open-ended question. For example, the user can look for the date when the Second World War ended, or she/he may want to know the health benefits of eating kale. 
• The undirected informational user search is when the user is looking for anything or everything about the topic. For instance, a user seeking broad information about Mona Lisa may want to first know everything about the painting. Later, after getting more broad information, she/he may have a specific close or open-ended question about the same topic.
• Many people search for advice on the web. An example of an advice informational search is when the user is seeking advice on how to find love, train a dog, or change a tire. 
• Another type of  informational search is when users are trying to locate a product or service.  An example of that kind of query would be locating dry cleaning services, or sailing lessons.
• A different type of the informational search is list. Frequently, users look for a list of suggested websites which will result in achieving some undetermined goal. Those searches could be for the best restaurants in town or hotels.

     The resource queries goal is to find a resource, not information.  There are four different types of resource queries: download, entertainment, interact and obtain.

•       A download goal occurs when the user copies something from the Internet that needs to be installed, such as drivers or a program.
•      An entertainment goal is related to queries that deliver a resource, simply for the user’s entertainment.  An example would be the 2013 Fete de la Musique performances.
•      The interact goal happens when the anticipated search return is a dynamic web service. That service can be a currency exchange rate or a stock quote.
•      The fourth goal of the resource query is to obtain a resource that can be viewed or printed. These resources can be used in the off-line world, such as recipes or screenplays.

      It is important for computer scientists to explore the reason why people search in order to improve the search engines and returned results. This can be achieved by looking at the search query, returned results, results chosen by the user and further user actions.  

The article about user goals in web searching, written by Rose and Levinson from Yahoo, can be found here.

2013 stats for Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter and LinkedIn

There are a few hot social media sites that emerged in the last decade: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.  The statistics about social media sites indicate that social networks are continually growing and are too big to be ignored. They provide huge potential markets and can help organizations advance toward their business goals.

It is increasingly difficult for businesses to stand out in the crowded networks. It is especially challenging for new businesses, which try to make their brands visible through a wide range of different social media channels. Social media marketing is not a direct sales tool, however it may lead to sales; therefore, not participating in online communities is like closing business doors during the busiest day of the year.

Facebook

• There are 1.23 billion monthly active Facebook users (16% increase in one year)
• Facebook users generate 4.5 billion Likes daily (67% increase)
• 757 million users log onto the site daily (22% increase)
• 945 million mobile active users (49% increases)
• 30% of Facebook users are between 25 and 34 years old
• Facebook is used almost equally by both genders
• Highest traffic to the site is between 1pm and 3pm in the middle of the week
• 83 million profiles are fake
• Average Facebook user visit is 20 minutes
• Majority of user still use desktop computers to access Facebook
• 50% of 18-24 year olds check Facebook page right after they wake up

Instagram

• There are 200 million monthly active users
• Instagram users generate 1.2 billion Likes daily
• 75% million users log onto site daily
• 13% of Internet users use Instagram
• 20 billion photos were shared in total since October 2010
• 60 million photos are posted daily that includes 35 million selfies)

Pinterest

• Pinterest site is 3 years old
• There are over 70 million monthly active users
• 80% of users are women
• 75% of daily traffic comes from users using mobile apps
• 20% of US women that use Internet are on Pinterest and 5% of US men
• 5 million pins or re-pins are awarded daily
• Top shared content is lifestyle related: 10% fashion, 16% parenting, 18% food

Tumblr

• There are 102 million Tumblr blogs
• Average user visits 67 Tumblr pages per month
• Average Tumblr user visit is 23 minutes
• Tumblr in US is used almost equally by both genders
• 35% of users earn more than $50,000 annually
• 65% of users have college education
• 33% of users are parents
• The top five countries using Tumblr are US, Brazil, UK, Canada and Russia

Twitter

• Twitter is 7 years old
• There are approximately 645 million Twitter accounts
• 218 million users are active monthly
• Average active Twitter user has 61 followers
• China is the top country that uses Twitter
• 43% of users use their phone to tweet
• 58 million tweets are generated daily

LinkedIn

• LinkedIn is almost 11 years old
• There are 277 (84 in US) million LinkedIn users
• 187 unique visitors access LinkedIn monthly
• 41% users access their page via mobile device
• 40% users check the web page daily