Creativity often involves combining something old with something new, as I discussed in a previous blog post. Here's a great example (and then how writers might do something similar):
Australia Post now offers "Video Stamps" that go on parcels and letters. You buy the stamp, download the Video Stamp app, and put it on whatever you're mailing. Within the next 12 hours you record a personal message up to 15 seconds, and upload the video.
The person who gets your package scans the Q code on the stamp to see the video. (If you want to see it in action, the YouTube video is at http://youtu.be/Iy_JbMPxeKc).
Clever, eh? Fifteen seconds is long enough to wish somebody a happy birthday or Merry Christmas plus a little message, maybe about the present.
WHAT CAN WRITERS DO WITH THIS?
You need a QR Code scanning app and It's not difficult to get a free QR code from a site like http://www.qrstuff.com. Here's one I made:
Give it a try...I'll wait...
You could link yours to your website for your book or other product, or to a YouTube Video about your book, for instance.
You could even print it on a t-shirt, especially if you're going to a conference, or on a mug to use as a give-away to selected people (like reviewers).
If you're really extreme, you could get it as a tattoo. Preferably temporary.
QR Codes haven't caught on as much as everybody thought they would, but maybe that's because not enough people have been creative with them yet. Any ideas?
(You'll get loads of ideas on demand when you use the methods in my book, Creativity Now, published by Pearson and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
