Stickybits: Almost Perfect

One of the quirkier start-ups to have gained coverage from SXSW Interactive is the fun, augmented-reality style Stickybits.

Launched by Seth Goldstein and Billy Chasen, it’s an app which allows you to attach videos, messages, pictures (or any digital media, really) to anything in the real world with a barcode. Giving an example, one of its founders poses a hypothetical scenario whereby a user manual could be attached to the barcode of a fridge.

Everyone who might scan a barcode thereafter would see the original message and could add their own, creating a forum dependent on the object and its location. Scans are geo-tagged too, so you can see where an object moves to, who is tagging objects around you, and where/when you have tagged what- this information can easily be shared with twitter, facebook, or any other networking site.

Despite  excitement around the concept, Stickybits is not the first attempt to use smart phones, cameras, and bar codes together.  Microsoft has a similar, two year old program called Microsoft Tag, and sports teams have implemented barcode ticketing schemes.

What will make the difference with Stickybits is if Goldstein and Chasen find the right uses for the service and successfully promote it to potential costumers and users.

Discussion does not show a plan for Stickybits to hook users, which could result in people using it in different, disconnected ways – the app would then have little effect on social media trends moving forward. Keep in mind that Apple also has taken out new patents on Near Field Communications (NFC), expected on phones this summer or next year. NFC would allow exchange between devices (i.e., a Smartphone and a television) and might mean that Stickybits use of barcodes and digital media is altogether an unnecessary step.

Still, there is potential for StickyBits to take off before NFC. The idea of Stickybits could be used for a variety of useful links, such as tourism planning and directions to review links and information storage. Stickybits can also be used as a marketing tool; bloggers have already been focusing on how companies can attach advertisements or promotions to their own or other barcodes, and at what cost/to whom this would occur.

There are a few issues around free barcode usage and marketing. First, if a barcode and one message are linked, there needs to be a way for companies to change messages if prices change, a promotion changes, etc. Second, if barcodes are tag-able by anyone, companies will have a very hard time managing what content is attached to their product and by whom. Management of Stickybits content is a problem in terms of inappropriate or unfavorable comments- Google’s Sidewiki experienced similar issues upon its launch.  Think about the reasons you might not want your children on Chatroulette- if monitoring isn’t considered strongly, Stickybits could encounter such problems.

There has been no mention of how Stickybits will handle changing tags, barcodes claimed by non-owners, or inappropriate content. In order for Stickybits to develop in a useful way, clearer plans of who it can benefit and how are needed. If guidelines for how companies can use Stickybits are not developed, it is not likely to become a useful tool in terms of social media or marketing.