CamClic Connects 1D Bar Codes To Internet For Pharmaceutical Industry

Today the pharmaceutical industry, what next?

Brand managers and mobile marketing agencies should be excited about the ability to "turn on" any product using a camera phone and the already printed 1D bar code.

Now any item with a 1D barcode can be connected to the Internet, delivering relevant information and creating an interactive experience. CamClic delivers permission granted mobile marketing.

CamClic allows anyone to create AND scan 1D barcodes (in addition to 2D codes) with a camera phone.

The billions of 1d bar codes that already exist on products, and newly created 2d codes from consumers and content creators, when scanned with a camera phone (Physical World Connection), have the ability to disrupt the advertising industry.

The CamClic solution has solved one of the biggest hurdles of Physical World Connection, scanning a 1d code with a mobile phone.


As the global leader in mobile e-packing of products and brands, CamClic now starts enabling the Real World Web for all brand owners around the world, starting with Sweden. With a free service with both publishing tools and mobile software for CamClics customers, the opportunity for the world brand owners is huge in turning their standard consumer goods packages into on-line consumer communicators.

In Sweden all the pharmaceutical packages are now "turned on" since a project with this branch started in the late summer. When a patient or user reads the 1D barcode with CamClic in his mobile phone, additional pharmaceutical information will be shown together with other information and special product services. In the future it will be possible for the pharmaceutical companies to stop distributing the product manual and instead distribute a electronic version with CamClic and the 1D barcode. The costs saved in stop printing manuals will be huge together with saving the environment.

CamClic will revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry - together with all other product industries - during the forthcoming years. The standard consumer goods packages will now contain on-line additional information and services through the 1D barcode - the already existing Real World Web hyperlink. (full story)

Here's why I think CamClic's model could really take off. Brands can encourage consumers to click on their barcodes for info/coupons etc and consumers can also click on codes and form their own hyperlink, or social network community.

CamClic

China Uses 1D Barcodes For Physical World Connection

How does a business card in China disrupt Physical World Connection?

A consumer in China shows us how China is starting to use 1D barcodes on business cards. The ability to generate and scan a 1d barcode with a mobile phone has enormous implications.


CamClic allows anyone to create AND scan 1D barcodes (in addition to 2D codes) with a camera phone.

The CamClic solution has solved one of the biggest hurdles of Physical World Connection, scanning a 1d code with a mobile phone.

What does that really mean to advertisers, brands, search engines and consumers?

If the barcodes that are already on packaging can now be scanned with a mobile phone, and consumers can create their own 1d barcode, has the mobile code standard already been established?

There are over 3 billion unique barcodes. A 12 oz can of Coke has one, the 16 oz has another etc. While that 12 oz can of Coke has one physical world hyperlink, it represents millions of ways to directly connect a consumer to Coke.

Billions of individual items/brands represent trillions of physical world hyperlinks waiting to be connected to the Net.

Every product with a barcode, Coke cans, Fergie CDs, just need to be "turned on". Google can add over 3 billion pages of unique data to their index by assigning a URL (website) AND FUNCTIONS to a barcode. Functions could include (coupons, video, consumer report, warranty, tech support, reorder etc)

Do you think barcode owners could find uses for this? More importantly, would consumers?

The killer app for Mobile Advertising will be a portal/platform that can “turn on” AND create physical world hyperlinks.

I explained how Microsoft can beat Google this way.

Up until now, 1d codes have been kept in a closed network. Cashiers and stockboys scan a 1d code for product information and checkout. The information delivered FROM the barcode comes from servers inside the store network....(intranet).

You can also type in a UPC code into a search engine and get a general summary of the product and manufacturer.

What happens when Google, Apple or Microsoft introduce a mobile barcode scanning application that allows anyone to scan a barcode and be connected to the Net. This will open the network for trillions of objects.

How does a barcode threaten search engines?

The physical world hyperlink will now allow website owners to direct traffic to their site with a physical object rather than a search engine. A barcode on a product replaces "For more information visit our website". That’s what I call disruptive.

However, here's how Google connects the physical world

Great thought goes into the packaging of a product, but one thing is put on every package that brands have never been able to use before, until now. The barcode. Its universal, can be scanned/typed, doesn’t take up any more room on the product to market, and can now provide a direct connection w/ the Internet…a Physical World Hyperlink.

In their massive content land grab, would Google ever consider acquiring the UPC database? Would they need to if they could just link them using their "Google Click" mobile application?

Google thrives on acquiring and creating content, the other opportunity I see for Google with physical world hyperlinks is social networking.

Google could offer bloggers, website owners, MySpacers or their own social network site a chance to create their own 1D code (physical world hyperlink) . If both brands and consumers used this type of mobile code, wouldn't that make it the default "standard" for mobile code scanning?

CamClic now makes it possible to connect all items with a 1d barcode to the Internet using a mobile phone AND allows users to create their own physical world hyperlink. This will have a huge impact on advertising and social networking.

Comments, thoughts?

CamClic Mobile Barcode Scanning Demo

Due to the high interest received on the CamClic story , I asked CamClic to post a video on how CamClic is able to read a 1d barcode with a camera phone.

Because the CamClic application is able to scan both 1d and 2d bar codes, they are getting attention from brands, carriers, major portals and mobile marketing agencies.

The billions of 1d bar codes that already exist on products, and newly created 2d codes from consumers and content creators, when scanned with a camera phone (Physical World Connection), have the ability to disrupt the advertising industry.

Mobile Barcode Scanning CamClic Is Out Of Beta

What happens if Wikipedia and MySpace created a Physical World Connection application?





CamClic combines a Wikipedia and MySpace function for Physical World Connection.

CamClic is a 1d code (barcode) reading Physical World Connection (PWC) player with a couple twists.

First their CamClic Barcode Reader can read, 1D barcodes as well as 2d codes.

Second, they are building communities around barcodes that have been scanned. Think of CamClic as MySpace meets CamClic from the rest of the PWC companies.

Consumers choose which barcodes to click on, form social networks around the products, and let brands determine the appropriate advertising.

Here's why I think their model could really take off. Brands can encourage consumers to click on their barcodes for info/coupons etc and consumers can also click on codes and form their own hyperlink, or social network community.

As an example: Music star Fergie is using barcodes for mobile ticketing. CamClic could "turn on" the 1D barcodes of all of her CDs. When a CD barcode is scanner, her music label can direct a scanner to an appropriate site/info. In addition, Fergie fans could also click on any barcode to be connect to the "Fergie Fan Club". How valuable is this data?

From their site:

CamClic Barcode Reader
"This is a Java ME software that enables camera phones to be used as barcode scanners.
The software handles noisy, rotated codes with 0,25 mm (approx. 0.01 inch) module widths.
We aim at decoding all major 1D and 2D codes, currently manifested by EAN13, Code128 and QR Code. CamClic handles QRcode now and can also be adjusted for Datamatrix etc".


CamClic doesn't want to be a PWC technology provider to other PWC companies. Instead they want to be a PWC Services provider for customers and brand owners.

Currently they are building a large group (community) of CamClic members that will capture their favorite friends and products (stores with physical world hyperlinks (PWH), restaurants with PWH, clubs with PWH etc etc) with CamClic and "put in a request of information/offer" about the product, and they build up "brand fan groups".

Right now the CamClicMe service connects people to people with personal hyperlink codes to launch. The service also makes it possible to download all your friends in a new phone with the CamClic software and to have you address book in the phone updated automatically with your friends.

The Swedish Trade Council is looking for CamClic sales & marketing partners in Canada and USA.

CamClic is privately owned and looking for venture capital.