Bar-code tagging, not reading...idea #44/100...

Recently I returned a book to the library. Yes! I still get books from the library (and not the Net). The library wouldn't renew over the phone as they had a reserve on the book from another customer.

The book was a self-help book for eczema sufferers (which includes me). My immediate feeling was to "reach out" to the other reader. Perhaps I could help them, or vice versa, or we could "swap notes" about the technique discussed in the book.

I thought whether or not it would be a good idea to scan the barcode of the book as an anchor-point for leaving a message. What intrigued me was that I don't need to know what the barcode actually represents within the library's IT system so that I can perform a look-up (i.e. for price comparison applications, or an online bookseller e-commerce application etc). All that matters is that it is unique within the context that I intend to use it for, which is to share tags between other readers.

Another reader can check for tags and find mine, or leave their own. Either way, we can end up finding each other and making contact based upon our common interest.

I wonder how many such tagging opportunities exist?

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