Brad Roberts

There's plenty of ways to create QR codes.  Here's a few that I use.

For web pages

When creating a QR code that opens a web page, I use bitly.  Bitly is a URL shortner, but it also gives you a QR code with every shortened URL. Here's how:

1. Input the URL you want to open when someone scans your QR code
2. Bitly gives you a short URL that looks something like this: http://bit.ly/ioedud
3. Simply append ".qrcode" onto the end of the new URL so it looks like this: http://bit.ly/ioedud.qrcode
4. Visit this URL in your web browser to view the QR code.  From here you can save it to your computer (right click and choose "save as..").

You may even consider registering your own short domain name and using Bitly Pro (the free version). For example, I'm using the domain http://homesear.ch

Another free alternative is Google's URL shortner.  The steps are almost identical, but with Google you'd append ".qr" to the end of the shortened URL.

For contact information

I don't have a favorite, but I used this QR code generator.  It creates a contact card in the MECARD format, which doesn't store as much information as the VCARD format, but I like to keep it simple. If you'd like to store your company info in the card, try Nokia's card generator and choose the VCARD format.

2d Code's list of QR code generators is a nice resource for different types of QR code generators.

Need help?

Check out how I use QR codes in real estate. If you need a hand creating QR codes, please let me know.

If you're a real estate agent, you've been inundated with 100 ways QR codes will skyrocket your business.  However, we have to understand that currently, the hype about QR codes is mainly within our industry.  It's not mainstream yet.  Businesses are simply creating excitement around a technology in order to make money, without any evidence to back it up.  I'd also like to point out that you can create QR codes yourself for free!

Unfortunately, as a result of over promotion, QR codes are often used haphazardly in real estate without any thought or goal in mind.

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The iPhone has push notifications for email, but...

1. Like everyone else, I get tons of bulk email.  It's mostly newsletters, announcements, etc.  I don't want my phone to bing-bong every time I receive an email. Only when I receive one from a real person.

2. I don't want my phone to ring at 3am, even if it's from a real person. 

Here's what I did.

1. First, I created two email addresses.  One that I give to real people, and another that I use for online signups.

2. Next, I installed Boxcar on my iPhone and added a new email service.  This gave me a special Boxcar email address that I can forward important emails to, which will popup on my phone.  I changed the settings to only notify me between 6am and 9pm.
   
   
3. Finally, I setup a filter in GMail that forwards my important emails to my new Boxcar email address.  In this case, an important email is any email sent to my real people address.
   
   

You can also tell Boxcar to alert you about new tweets, facebook activity, and a ton of other stuff.