"Scan me!" screamed the bright pink shirt of ACC student Kelly Anderson who stood outside of the Austin Convention Center on March 15 during SXSW.
Festival goers stopped, pulled out their smartphones and scanned a picture of Anderson's tank top on bar code applications throughout the day in order to scan a quick response (QR) code emblazoned on her chest.
The QR code, a type of bar code that's called a mobile tag, gave people who scanned her shirt a text message with information about a free music showcase that would be occurring later that night.
Anderson was just one of many people who wore QR codes at the festival in order to market a showcase, website, or application during the conferences.
In fact, QR codes were found everywhere. They were clearly one of the biggest promotion tools used at SXSW this year.
The cryptic-looking square mobile tags were found in the halls of the convention center and throughout downtown on utility poles, discarded fliers and postcards, and even on SXSW badges.
QR codes are the latest trend adopted from Japan that businesses and people are using to market their services, especially to younger audiences who are always on the go.
College students can also take advantage of QR codes by using them on business cards and resumes, linking them to personal websites in order to promote themselves and show potential employers way who they are in a more creative way.
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