If you wanted to encourage people to learn more about a city, what type of online social networking or mobile networking technology would you use? Thinking FourSquares? Thinking Facebook? Maybe Twitter? Well, think again.

That is because The Boston Globe, the city's leading daily, organized a scavenger hunt using QR Codes. It's funny because FourSquares is undeniably the leader in the location-based technology that makes use of mobile phones and the internet. Instead of using that, The Boston Globe chose to use QR Codes instead.

The scavenger hunt's main aim is to get people to hit the streets trying to locate QR Codes that are left pasted on different locations around the city. The reason they have decided to use QR Codes is that it is easier for people to 'check-in' at the locations and with a nice tracking system, organizers can see who went where and what they did next. Sounds like an incredible load of fun!

What participants have to do is to find QR Codes, snap photos and then scan the QR Codes to check-in. There are five types or themes that they can shoot for. It is a fantastic way to get people to learn, enjoy, explore and learn more about Boston's rich heritage and cultural diversity. Don't be surprised that despite living in such a beautiful city, many locals don't know a whole lot about their beautiful buildings and landmarks. Only tourists and out-of-town visitors are interested in Boston's culture and history....which is a pity, really.

There is a photography themed scavenger hunt which encourages participants to locate and snap pictures of important Boston landmarks.

The QR Codes tracking system not only tracks location, check-in and also badges for participants, it also awards points, unlock new challenges and confer awards.

Of course, the scavenger hunt comes with attractive prizes too like tickets to Red Sox game, movie tickets, iTunes gifts, admission tickets to theme parks and special rides, etc. It is indeed a creative way to get people to explore a city that they take for granted.