Using QR Codes To Determine if Facebook Posts Still Exist

PayMeWithAPost.com allows businesses to "build" messages that customers can post to their Facebook page in exchange for goods and services.

Here's the dilemma. When they want to redeem their "stuff", how do you determine if the Facebook post still exists. After all, if they delete the post as soon as it's posted, it's not worth anything to the business anymore. The business has lost the advertising.

Enter qr codes. Many are using qr codes for marketing purposes. That's great. But, qr codes can do much, much more. Here's how it works:

1. When the user posts to Facebook, grab the Facebook post id. Every Facebook post has a unique id used to identify the post.
2. Using the bit.ly API dynamically create a shortened URL to your "processing page", passing the post id via a querystring.
3. The bit.ly API also allows you to create a qr code with the URL simply by appending ".qrcode" to the end of the shortened URL. This qr code is an image and will be added to the html email sent to the customer.
4. When the customer brings the email to redeem their "stuff", you will be scanning a URL with the facebook post id as a querystring. Using the Facebook Graph API, you can then determine if the post still exists.


If you are a developer and would like more information, please email me at postmaster@paymewithapost.com