The medical journal, NEUROSURGERY, will be featuring QR codes in their April 2011 issue. Readers will be able to gain access to additional online content by scanning the codes with their smart phones. The journal is using the codes to fill the gap between print and online content. The codes will help enhance reader experience for those that enjoy the traditional hard copy.
Print media has been competing with digital content for some time now. With users able to access content quickly through the Internet, fewer are making use of print and that has translated into a loss of subscribership for magazines and newspapers. The staff of NEUROSURGERY believes that QR codes are the key to overcoming their struggle with online content.
“Using QR codes in our print product links the two worlds together in a fairly seamless manner,” says Duncan A. MacRae, managing editor for the medical journal. Readers can scan the codes to watch surgical videos while still being able to experience print. The codes will also help the journal maintain a strong presence in social networks.
Scanning the codes will allow readers to view content that is associated with the articles they are reading. The majority of the content available will be in the form of videos and the journal has set up a YouTube channel to accommodate this. “It is a logical evolution to start using QR codes to connect readers with content that they would have otherwise needed a laptop or desktop to experience,” notes MacRae.
The codes will first be seen in the April 2011 issue of NEUROSURGERY and may be used in future publications of the journal
