Are QR Codes the future?
In Japan there is a cell phone culture called Ketai Culture. They have several things on their cell phones that we would not normally consider as a normal option. Some phones have pedometers, crime prevention buzzers, and many other things. The culture is so intense over there that half of their top selling books are written on cell phones and many are read on phones as well.
I wanted to mention QR Codes. What is a QR Code? It is very similar to a bar-code, but when you take a picture of it, the QR Code will direct you to a URL. In Japan many movie posters have them (which direct you to the movies website or viral site), grocery items have them, and even business cards will direct you to the company or employees website.
If our tech/cell phone culture continues to boom here, I think this is something that Americans will start taking more advantage of. Imagine, being able to research almost everything you see, just by taking a picture of the QR Code. That would be awesome! They are currently testing it out in San Francisco where the QR Code will direct you to a Citysearch website for restaurants and shops. It seems like San Francisco is the spot for all the awesome stuff to be tested.