To help in this celebration, you can make a barcode with your site’s address (there is at least one more at barcodesinc, but at the moment of writing it is painfully slow).

I find these parameters nearly optimal:

• Type: Code 128-B
• Styles: Draw value text
• Size: 234×60 (half-banner size)
• Xres: 1
• Text font: 5
• Value: bogdan.org.ua

If you wish, you can also exactly replicate today’s Google logo – which says “Google”, as you could have guessed.

You can place this barcode on your “souvenirs” – pens, cups, t-shirts. Many phones now have barcode scanners (e.g. Nokia E71), so put this code onto your namecard.

Read on to learn about matrix barcodes.

You may also investigate further into matrix/2D codes, which may contain much more information. To the left is the QR code of my blog’s address – try and scan it with your cameraphone! Or make one for yourself.

Here’s an encrypted message:

There are many types of matrix/2D barcodes. QR code (above), datamatrix (left picture) and Semacode (right picture) were all successfully recognized by my phone.