Technology links past and present

Colorado City is about to be put on the map – the World Wide Web map.

Cell phone users will have instant access to information about Colorado City’s historic buildings due to cutting edge technology introduced from Japan.

Quick Response Codes link the physical world with the Internet via a two-dimensional bar code. So simple to create that anyone can design one, QRC provide massive amounts of information with the click of a cell phone camera. The black-and-white digitized images range anywhere from one inch squares to four feet by four feet squares.

Dustin Haisler, QRC specialist from Manor, Texas, along with his wife Amanda and Manor city manager Phil Tate met with Main Street and city leaders this week to discuss how using cell phone technology and internet access can benefit Colorado City’s marketing strategies and economic development.

Haisler was instrumental in helping Manor become the first U.S. city to implement the technology on their downtown buildings, high school and Jennie Lane SmartPark.

“We initially were looking for a document management system,” said Haisler. “I did some online research for a bar code we could use that was cheap.  It hit both of us this had a lot of economic development potential.  If it can be read by any cell pone with a camera, why are we holding back?”

“We started with the concept of nothing,” said Tate, adding the system was extremely easy to use.

QRC was developed in 1991 by a Japan company that offered it to anyone to use.

“It’s free technology,” said Haisler.  “You can create it, open it, or read it for free.  It’s a web-based generator and you don’t have to be tech savvy to use it.  Anyone who knows how to use the Internet can make a code.  Once the reader is on a phone, it’s as simple as pointing.”

Manor used the technology to revitalize their downtown and restore a historic park. “We selected a number of historic sites and tied the history to the website. As people go to different places, they have access to photos, founder information, historical references, site locations and even audio recordings,” said Tate.

“It compliments historical markers, not take away from them,” said Haisler. “It can highlight what you have and empower people to take ownership of things you can’t get a historical marker for.”

“We are looking at using QRC to label all the historic buildings and the entrances to the city,” said Cecilia Scott, Main Street coordinator.  “We can also find out how to label headstones, particularly those of historic figures like Dick Ware.”

The technology can also revitalize print advertizing.  A code included in a newspaper ad, allows a cell phone user to bring up a restaurant’s complete menu, sales, discounts or even coupons.

Emergency contact information can be stored within the code to assist rescue workers responding to an emergency.

The codes allow information to be directly embedded or accessed through a link to a website.

“You have so much potential and history here you can highlight with these codes.  You can compliment what’s already here without creating anything new,” said Haisler.