We heard about the massive Pepsi QR campaign a while ago and have been tracking the progress on the web. Ever since it launched I've been rubber necking at Pepsi cans and bottles for real, hard evidence of QR codes launching themselves into the UK.

And finally we have it! There it is. Have to say it looks pretty good. The QR code is arresting, and there is a rudimentary rubric in the form of a phone, seemingly beaming something towards the barcode itself. While it isn't totally clear what you should be doing, it's probably better than nothing when working on a scale like this. Found on a casual of afternoon Pepsi at work- can't say more embedded and natural than that.

This is a landmark campaign for both QR codes and mobile marketing in the UK. Pepsi is a marketing driven brand with enormous clout. PepsiCo is the kind of vast consumer goods producer that will drive barcodes out into the mainstream. That they are pioneering QR codes at such an early phase of adoption is commendable- I for one sincerely hope they see a decent ROI on the campaign..

So, they are out there. QR codes are live in the UK, and this is only the beginning.

Michael

I am off to the Techcrunch startup event they have on 21st April(http://uk.techcrunch.com/2009/03/20/geek-n-rolla-tech-startups-rock-april-21-london/).

It looks awesome and a really good opportunity to do some networking. I am actually taking a days holiday from work to go so I am hoping to meet lots of lovely tech heads and people going through the same tribes and tribulations as we are there. I have yet to immerse myself in the London startup scene but from what I hear it is pretty vibrant.

Hope to meet some of you there.

Ben

Im sure many of you have some truly great (and probably some not so
great) web business ideas. First things first, I want to say that
myself and my good friend Michael are new at this. We don't have CV's
bursting with impressive web startup accolades and multi million pound
exits to VC's. We have other day jobs and just wanted to make the leap
from talking about ideas for web businesses to actually doing them.

We are at the start of an uncertain road but one thing is for sure, we
are going to be pushing hell for leather to establish our new company,
Quik Communications Ltd. We love QR codes and have some cool projects
lined up that make use of these ingenious things.

I myself have a background in sales so I am learning a huge amount about
how to go from idea to a functioning web business. What have I learnt so
far? I like to think of myself as an idea man. I carry a note book for
when ideas come to me (which addmittedly my girlfriend rightly mocks me
for). Going from idea to a tangible web business however is tough,
especially when you are holding down another stressful job. I would
really advise fellow web entrepreneurs to get help to realise their
ideas.

I started trying to so everything myself; do my job, come back, work on
the reasearch, find developers, work out a marketing strategy, setup a
blog yada yada yada. I found that inevitebly I just couldn't do
everything myself. Finding a business partner has certainly helped me
focus on what I like to do (sales, marketing, generate idea and
strategy) and push the business along at a much quicker pace than ever
would have been possible on my own.

Going forward we will be sharing our experience, in real time, of
developing a hatchling web startup in London.

Sticking with exchanging ideas and connecting with like minded people,
are there any networking events, talks etc that you have found useful in
London? Any advice appreciated!

Ben

It's been brewing for a while, planning for a while, but we are now all systems go. Quikqr is being developed even as we speak.

What can you expect from this blog then? A few things.

Firstly Ben and myself, the founders of Quik Communications, the company behind Quikqr, will be talking about QR codes and the potential of barcodes in general. We passionately believe that these digital physical interfaces have the potential to transform the way we engage with the internet, and indeed the world. We try and keep on top of all the latest news in the area and will let you know when we find something interesting.

Secondly we'll be telling the story of getting our company off the ground. Like everyone in this space (and possibly on the web) we are learning as we go- learning about everything from contracts to some of the intricacies begind APIs. We'll be open about the travails, highs and lows in setting it up. Whatever happens next, it'll be an interesting journey.

There has already been a lot of work going on behind the scenes. Unsurprisingly even relatively simple websites take a lot of thought and work. If you want to do them well that is.

So for now watch this space-...

Michael