Maybe I'm just slow tonight but I don't see the usefulness in the applications you're describing.

>for politics or mass dissemination of paper based digital files for the public to quickly consume

> Imagine, if students could start posting free textbook pdf files just by handing out a piece of paper which you could scan, or maybe with a phone one day, and instantly receive the file.

With both of those, how is this more efficient or easier to pass around than a cheap micro sd card, or just emailing a pdf?