Note: this memo is primarily aimed at tech-savvy kids, not at old fogie technophobe Luddites. If you are a technophobe, move along, nothing to see here.
Background: the world has changed, right? We do online petitions now. It’s more efficient on both sides of the interaction – easier to pass, easier to sign; you don’t have to mess around with re-copying or trying to read people’s illegible handwriting (speaking as a top offender of illegible handwriting); if you sign on your own device, you probably have your own information already saved in your browser, which makes signing go tschik-tschok, as they say in Hebrew.
OK, but we still want to pass petitions at events. Does that mean we have to go back to pen and paper?
You know how when you ride the Amtrak, and sometimes on planes, they use QR codes, so you don’t need a paper ticket. You just hold up your smart phone showing your electronic ticket with the QR code on it and the conductor/airline employee uses a QR reader to capture the information from your electronic ticket’s QR code.
We can use this technology for online petitions too. You generate a QR code for the website that has the petition on it, you point a smart phone (or laptop’s) camera at it, and after the image is captured, the smartphone jumps to the URL of the petition site, where you can sign the petition on your smartphone.
The smartphone or laptop has to have a QR reader installed. But you can easily download QR readers for free. Just go to the app store on your device, search for “QR reader”, and choose one of many free options. On my iPhone, I have installed the free QRReader app.
So, with that background concluded, here is the ask. I’m going to try to get signers on the Illinois anti-anti-boycott petition at Rabbi Brant Rosen’s talk tonight at UIUC, using a QR code that Just Foreign Policy has generated for the petition’s website.
Two ways you can help me test:
1. Having installed a QR reader on your smartphone, point your smartphone at this image to be taken to the URL for the Illinois petition:
Indicate in the comments below (not at the petition website) if you had trouble getting this to work.
2. If you’re coming to the talk tonight, bring your smartphone (or laptop with camera) with a QR reader installed, ready to sign the Illinois petition
Coming attractions: New York and Maryland.
UPDATE: There is an Illinois petition for faculty. **Note that you are requested to include your academic affiliation in the comments.** Here is a QR code for that petition:
UPDATE: Here is a QR code for the New York petition:
UPDATE: Here is a QR code for the Maryland petition: