Look deep into the picture… It will take you to a different place!!!

No i am not joking. Its just that you need to see it with your smartphone’s eye.

The picture shown above is known as Microsoft tag image, an optical machine-readable representation of data. You can scan them using your smartphone’s camera, with the help of a small tag reader app which can be downloaded from http://gettag.mobi. Once downloaded and installed in the smartphone the app helps you to recognize the image pattern which essentially represents links over the internet.

So if its simply a link why not simply type it?

ok, try this url :

http://www.thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/wearejustdoingthistobestupidnowsincethiscangoonforeverandeverandeverbutitst

illlookskindaneatinthebrowsereventhoughitsabigwasteoftimeandenergyandhasnoreal

pointbutwehadtodoitanyways.html

(the url actually exists, try copying and pasting it in the browser’s adress bar)

But, unlike here where you can copy and paste a link, the same scenario can never happen in real world. You cant copy something pasted on a wall. But you can always scan an attractive looking tag picture pasted on it, and let the app that you downloaded, do rest of the hard work of converting the pattern into an URL. A technology connecting the physical world to the virtual world of the Internet.

How tags work…

(Courtesy : CNET)

Some organizations which aim to provide a  convenient and modernistic experience to their customers, have already started tapping in the power of tags.

Allure magazine has partnered with Microsoft Tag for its annual Free Stuff issue this August, allowing readers to use their smartphones to participate in $725,000 worth of beauty product giveaways.

The movie Source Code, following its name has included a digital component to the film’s marketing campaign. The movie productions has come up with a social media game called Source Code Mission that can be activated by Microsoft Tag technology within the movie poster. The tag in the poster will lead to a game that takes 10 to 20 minutes and is based on the movie’s plot. Those who successfully complete the game will be automatically entered for a grand prize of a trip to SXSW in 2012 to watch the movie’s premiere.

Many others are thinking of other innovative methods, like including the tags in their logos itself.

The technology is new and will take some time to get the popularity it deserves. The ease with which tags can be made is surely helping it grow fast. You can also make a tag for yourself at http://tag.microsoft.com/consumer/index.aspx. Just follow the simple instructions.

Once done, don’t forget to scan the tag at the top to see tags in action for yourself. Keep scanning!