I can’t see this on my own Facebook profile yet, but we’ve gotten a number of tips in our inbox in the past 10 minutes so it’s safe to assume it’s not a hoax or anything: Facebook appears to have started enabling users to generate custom two-dimensional QR codes.
From the looks of the screenshot embedded above, there are two types of QR codes: a personal barcode or a “status QR barcode”. This also seems to appear on Facebook Fan Pages.
via TechCrunch: Facebook Kicks Off Implementation Of QR Codes .
QR barcodes are two-dimensional bar codes… similar to what you see on computer generated postal stamps when you use USPS automated kiosks. The QR codes on facebook would have a link to one’s facebook profile, presumably. This has tremendous potential, I believe, and could be use in everything from loyalty marketing programs, to integration w/ airline/hotel checkins etc. Of course, there’s the privacy issue, but that could be fixed with PGP or other security issues. Heck, why not use the QR codes to store your public PGP key and use as a voter identification at these new high tech electronic voting booth. Lots of possibilities here… a cheaper alternative than embedding RFIDs on everything… (I wonder if people realize how companies have begun embedding RFIDs in clothing — well, that’s a topic for another day)
David Mantilla 