IFTTT – “if this, then that” – is now available on Android. The incredibly popular automate-your-life service has been an internet favorite for some time, especially for those who want things to just happen depending on certain circumstances. Think of it a bit like Tasker, only even more broad with tie-ins to popular internet services. Could I have been more vague there? Probably not. Let me try to explain this.
IFTTT works like this. You decide if this happens, then you want that to happen as a result. For example, if you leave work, you could have your phone text your wife. I know, that’s nothing new, but it gets better. If you showed up to the Whitehouse, you could have your phone automatically Tweet at Barack Obama. If the weather calls for rain tomorrow, you could have a notification sent to your phone. If you receive a Gmail message with an attachment, you could automatically send that attachment to Dropbox. If you post a picture to Instagram, you could have it automatically set as your phone’s wallpaper.
Starting to make sense?
Those examples I just described are called “Recipes.” Recipes are built from Triggers and Actions. Triggers are the “if this” part, while Actions are the “do that” part. There are also Channels, which are the building blocks for Recipes.
It’s pretty awesome. You should definitely check this out, along with the IFTTT site to get inspiration or find pre-built Recipes. Because, yes, there are tons and tons of Recipes already available that may be perfect for you and will require that you not even lift a finger. OK, maybe one finger just to activate it.
Got any good Recipes to share?
This post was last modified on April 24, 2014 11:28 am