Automate your Tasks

My last blog was a technology related blog and was about Philips’ Hue. Since some of you were interested in it, I am going to follow it up with another cool technology which also relates to Hue.

This week’s blog is about a software and an app that you can install on your computer or iPhone (not on Android yet) and it will perform some interesting tasks.

It’s called IFTT, which is an acronym for “If This, Then That.” It’s also pronounced like “gift” without the letter “g”.

IFTTT is a service that enables users to connect different web applications (e.g., Facebook, Evernote, Weather, Stocks, Dropbox, etc.) together through simple conditional statements known as "Recipes."

IFTTT enables users to create and share "Recipes" that fit the simple statement: "if this then that." The “this” part of a Recipe is called a Trigger. The “that” part of a Recipe is called an Action. The combination of a Trigger and an Action from a user's active channels are called Recipes. The service offers Triggers and Actions for 73 channels (as of now), such as Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, ESPN, Flickr, Evernote, and Microsoft SkyDrive. It also integrates with Belkin WeMo devices and Philips HUE allowing Recipes to interact with the physical world.

I have started using it to see how it works and how helpful it can be. I have set up all of my recipes on my PC which was very easy and quick. For example, I created a recipe that states: If today's stock price for Twitter rises by 1%, then send me an email. You can also pick from a list of thousands of recipes that are created by other users.

Here are a few examples of what you can create:

• When a new book is added to Kindle Top 100 Free eBooks, send me an email.
  
• If it’s going to rain tomorrow, remind me by text to take an umbrella.
  
• When a new pictures is taken on my iPhone, then upload it my Google Drive.
  
• When it’s time for the kids to go to bed, turn the Philips Hue lights into a rainbow colors.
  
• When a new apartment (or anything else based on your criteria) is listed on Craigslist, send me a text.
  
• Every year post a new Facebook status wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.
  
• If I'm tagged in a photo on Facebook, then blink the Philips Hue lights to let me know.
  
• When Facebook profile picture changes, update Twitter profile picture too.
  
• Upload new Instagram photos to Flickr.
  
• Turn a device on or off from anywhere. (Needs Belkin switches in your house.)
  
• Call my phone at a specified time as a wakeup call.
  
• When I text “help”, call my phone so I can get out of a meeting or a tricky situation.
  
• Keep track of a particular stock's daily closing price in a spreadsheet.

I think you get the idea. This is a fun service which can do many things and it can become more useful as more channels are added and more physical things can be controlled. I like to see a GPS service added so based on my location I can have different actions happen. It would be interesting to get a text between noon and 1:00 PM whenever I am close to an In-n-Out Burger. :)

Give it a try, it’s fun.