This seems like a good post to start the new year because it is filled with possibility. Last year, an Oxfam charity shop in Manchester, England did an interesting experiment with RFID tags and QR codes. They allowed people donating goods to record the stories (or histories) of their items. These recordings were then made available in the store through a hacked iphone that read the item-associated RFID tags, but they were also accessible to any device that could read QR codes (those barcode looking squares available in many smartphone apps).
The project was part of a larger effort by several UK universities to create a site, called Tales of Things, for sharing personal and social histories. While there are several obvious ways these kinds of tags can be used in museum-type settings, it is interesting to ponder other uses as well. Imagine buying a product that has been tagged in every step of the production and transportation process. Relatives passing down stories of family heirlooms. Or, as this article in the NY Times pointed out, your tagged tennis racquet updating your location on Foursquare. The future is scary and awesome.
