Thank you very much everybody for using the Scan Hero. We could even inspire a CopyCat close to the Silicon Valley to something similar they call Barcode Hero. But we realized that the Check-In just does not really work for products. You simply have more emotional connection to a bar, than to your shampoo.

That’s why the real social elements of the Scan Hero are now integrated directly at the result page of barcoo and you are finally able to have real discussions about products. The Check-In is history but now there’s the ScanTicker. It shows you which product in which category is most scanned one from you. And we open the treasury and show you which products are being scanned or reviewed live!

• Livescans

  http://www.barcoo.com/blog/wp-content/livescans_en.png

• Topscans

  http://www.barcoo.com/blog/wp-content/topscans_food.png

So there’s no reason any more not using barcoo in the subway ;)

Apple announced today that they will launch iAd in Germany. Wow … or actually rather yawn? I think iAd is totally boring. At the end it’s only a technical gimmick and so only stump placing of interactive banners without any context, such as we know it from AdMob & Co. This is supposed to be an innovative advertising format? The superlative of what we offer producers would have to be invented in this case. At barcoo you can directly approach consumers on product and product category level – that’s how advertisement is added value and not just only annoying. But let’s do an objective comparison (for Germany):

Good luck Apple, you will find some customers in any case. But whoever wants to have some really useful campaigns, should just talk to us ;)

tegut… is an anthroposophical enterprise that really means well with our world and therefore pays close attention towards high quality and environmentally friendliness regarding its store brands. That is why we are excited that tegut now offers all you barcoonauts the possibility to pull up the information directly while shopping. After each tegut product is scanned, you can find next to the common neutral information clearly marked information provided by tegut (in German):

As a matter of fact, we are even more pleased with the news that in tegut’s 300 Supermarkets, there will be displays encouraging customers to scan products with barcoo. That’s cool!

We call this initiative augmented labeling and encourage other manufacturers open to the idea to join in.

Many barcoonauts have special requirements for a product guide that we would love to fulfill: What food is safe for anyone to eat who has food intolerances or sensitivities such as lactose, histamine, and gluten? Can we integrate shops that offer special diets? A lot of times it is difficult to integrate such data because the information is too fragmented or simply for legal reasons. We also face a similar situation regarding the dietary requirements set by Islam – we would love to integrate a virtual Halal designation – but do not have enough reliable data yet.

If you know somebody that knows somebody that has access to Halal information, ideally on product-for-product level, than please let us know.