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IFTTT- Tech to Make Your Life Easier!

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If you’ve always admired computer programmers who can write code and make computers do the work for you, then you need to check out IFTTT. The folks who brought you Buffer are determined to make your life easier. They developed IFTTT, a free site that simplifies your life by letting you program the Internet to help you out. No coding required!

What IFTTT Is

IFTTT helps you stay on top of social media sites, important events, stock prices, the weather and, well, life.  IFTTT, an acronym for If This Then That, lets you create programs to make things happen. These programs are called “Recipes” and by mixing together the right ingredients, you can put the Internet to work for you. If you’re a programmer, you could write code to make this happen. But you don’t have to be a programmer – IFTTT makes it easy.

A Recipe is “if this, then that.” Plain and simple.

Sample IFTTT Recipes

To get an idea of how IFTTT works, here are some examples of IFTTT Recipes:

The IFTTT Simple Formula

Channel + Trigger + Action = Recipe

Trust me, it’s easy.

Channels

IFTTT works with channels, such as a social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare) , weather events, stock prices, etc.  To work with a channel, you need to give IFTTT permission to access your account. IFTTT is connected with 47 different channels, but you only need to give permission for the channels you’ll be using with IFTTT.

Triggers

A trigger is the This part of  the Recipe, such as if:

  • XYZ stock price reaches $XX
  • I am tagged in a Facebook photo

Actions

The action is the Then part of the recipe, such as

  • Email me
  • Save to my Dropbox

Super Easy IFTTT Recipes!

You can either create your own Recipes or use ones that others have created to make it even easier.

The easiest way of using IFTTT is finding a Recipe that has already been created by someone else. You can browse IFTTT to see what Recipes are available and tweak them to fit your needs. Tens of thousands of Recipes have been created so you may not need to create your own.

To find Recipes, go to Browse and choose from Popular, Hot and What’s New. You can also search for terms to find all Recipes that use a certain channel, trigger or action. For example, you could search “Facebook” to find all IFTTT Recipes that use the Facebook Channel.

Searching through others’ Recipes will also give you ideas. You may find a Recipe such as Add my Foursquare check ins to my Google calendar, to help you keep a diary of places you’ve been. Or you may want to automatically Convert and send books and documents from my Dropbox to my Kindle.

Creating Your Own IFTTT Recipes

If you can’t find a Recipe you want or you like the idea of creating your own, you can make your own Recipes very easily. Go to IFTTT Create.

1. First choose an IFTTT Channel.

2. Next choose a Trigger. After you choose a Channel, IFTTT will show you the Trigger options for that Channel.

3. Finally choose an Action that you want to happen when the Trigger occurs.

IFTTT guides you through the process so it’s easy to follow each step of the way.

Using IFTTT with Twitter

IFTTT works with Twitter, so you can use Recipes that send tweets thanking people for mentioning you or following you on Twitter. But Twitter doesn’t allow the use of the @username with IFTTT. For example, you can’t create a Recipe that will send out a tweet thanking someone with “@username” in the tweet. If you’re not using their user name to thank them, you would have to say something like, “Thank you #username for the follow!” The chances that your new follower will see your thank you tweet are pretty slim.

The solution is to use Buffer in your Recipe, not Twitter, if you want to include an @username in the text of your tweets. In the previous example thanking someone for following you on Twitter, you can use Buffer in your Recipe for tweets that say “Thank you @username for the follow!”

Note that free Buffer accounts have a limit of 10 tweets in your buffer so you can fill up your buffer very quickly if you get a lot of new followers. But you will save a lot of time and show a lot of appreciation by using IFTTT with Buffer.

Sample Fun IFTTT Recipes

In February, I wrote about a site that makes it easy to Clean Up Your Permissions. You can have IFTTT send you an email on the first of each month reminding you to visit that site. Here is the Recipe: Email reminder to clean up your permissions.

Want to save your Pinterest pins? Use this Recipe to Back up your Pinterest pins to your Dropbox.

If you’re in a bind and need a call to rescue you from a meeting, bad date or awkward situation, check out this Recipe:
Text IFTTT and have a call placed to your cell phone with a message that you set.

Want to make a quick Twitter list for a topic? Check out this Recipe: Create a Twitter list from hashtags.

You can use IFTTT as an alarm clock to wake you up in the morning or as an event reminder when you add an appointment to your Google calendar.

Bottom Line

Free tech that makes your life easier may sound too good to be true. But IFTTT is a fun, free and easy way to simplify your life.

Have you used IFTTT? What are your favorite Recipes? Let us know in the Comments section below!

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Comments

  1. Mike Maynard says

    I’m not sure about this; it could be useful. It reminds me of the If … then statement in BASIC. I liked BASIC, I miss it! I have to write blogs for tomorrow, but I feel like going out taking photos after a weekend confined by the weather!

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Mike, you’re right, it’s logic – syllogisms. This tool is incredibly useful. I find myself visiting IFTTT frequently to find new Recipes and tweak the ones I have. I am really excited about this site, there’s a lot of potential for really cool stuff here. I look forward to seeing this site grow and go on to new levels of usefulness.

      I hope you have a sunny day for your Neodigital Art post photos!

  2. Bell says

    This is brilliant, Carolyn. I’ll be finding uses for IFTTT real soon — it strikes me as a more-than-convenient replacement for Google alerts in my case.

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi John, Yes, there is a Recipe that I found that is a replacement for Google Alerts. Or you could create your own Recipe.

      Once you get started using this site, you are truly going to love it. I look forward to hearing about your favorite Recipes! 🙂

  3. Ruth Zive says

    Carolyn, how about a recipe for this…

    Whenever I am strapped for time (always), find an extra two hours and add it to my day.

    That would be life changing :-).

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Ruth, Excellent point. IFTTT may not save you two hours each day, but by setting up some helpful Recipes, you can definitely save yourself a lot of time and stay on top of information more efficiently. That’s a life-changer.

  4. Sylviane Nuccio says

    Wow, miss wonder of tech, you have amazed me one more time 🙂

    That sounds really great Carolyn, and I can’t tell that I am going to try this tomorrow, but I will look into this thing. You learn everyday! You know when it comes to tech I am a babe.

    Thank for such great updates and news as always 🙂

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Sylviane, That’s one of the great things about IFTTT, you don’t have to be a tech expert to use it. This site is so very easy to use.

      I’m really excited about this site. I think it’s a game-changer and will be the basis for some really great tech going forward. I hope you get a chance to try it out, Sylviane. I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do! 🙂

  5. Harleena Singh says

    Interesting indeed!

    Never ever heard of IFTTT earlier, but by the look of it – it surely looks something worth trying out. And when I read ‘ recipes’ the first time, I thought it may be having some recipes we could try at home (lol..) but yes, on a detailed reading I understood that it was something different. 🙂

    I think the interesting part is that anyone can use this, as I just tried typing the alphabet ‘p’ and there I saw parenting and parents in the drop down. Though I’ve not yet joined but to find something you can relate to is interesting indeed. 🙂

    Thanks for sharing and letting us all know about yet another cool tool 🙂

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Harleena, I never thought to use IFTTT for parenting. What a great idea. I just found a Recipe for a reminder to call your parents on Sunday morning: http://ifttt.com/recipes/35676

      You’re right, this site is very cool, but what makes it really interesting is that anyone can use it. There are recipes in many different languages, not just English. It’s easy to use and universal!

      I hope you find some good Recipes, Harleena! 🙂

      • Harleena Singh says

        Thanks for sharing that recipe Carolyn 🙂

        I guess with many more languages, it would reach a wider audience and draw more people to it as well. Would surely check it out real soon. 🙂

        Thanks once again. 🙂

  6. Adrienne says

    Wow Carolyn, I’ve always been so jealous of what programmers can do. This is a really cool site and you can bet I’ll be checking it out. Thanks so much for sharing this with us again.

    You really do give us the latest and greatest stuff. I love it!

    ~Adrienne

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Adrienne, Yes, this is a very cool site and we’ve only scratched the surface of what this site can do. As more people develop more Recipes, the power of this site will grow exponentially.

      I love sharing cool tech like this! 😀

  7. Rajnish says

    I heard about IFTTT for the first time here only and I am going to try it out today and I think it will be good.

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Yes, Bill. You can trust me, right? I wouldn’t lead you down a path of tech confusion. That’s not going to happen! [-(

      Great question. You don’t need to download anything. Just go to ifttt.com and sign up for an account and start browsing Recipes. When you find one you like, link your accounts and you’re good to go. You’re going to love this, I promise! \:D/

  9. Praveen Rajarao says

    Carolyn – This is really cool…the way the tool is using the If…Then…logic is awesome and it really makes sense in many ways (just as you have given the recipe link to Harleena 🙂 )

    Great review and a useful tool, need to check out more features.

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Praveen, You are going to love this. I know that you will soon be making your own Recipes. Feel free to share them with us. I’m thinking you’ll come up with some great ones.

      Some people like creating their own even if a Recipe already exists. That way you can craft it exactly the way you want it. Plus, making your own Recipes is fun! :-bd

  10. Aditya says

    Hi Carolyn,

    Again you proved yourself with a good article.I never heard about IFTTT earlier but after going through what you had explained i can’t stop myself trying this.

    The best part in it is everyone can use this tool.Also, we can use IFTTT with different social media sites as well.
    I will surely tell my experience of this tool after using it soon.

    Thanks again for this information carolyn hope you provide much more information about other stuffs too. 🙂

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Aditya, Yes, everyone can use it, so long as you have a computer. You don’t need a smartphone or any special hardware, no downloads required. IFTTT is free and Recipes are available in many different languages.

      Please do let us know how you like it and which Recipes are your favorites!

  11. dadblunders says

    I love this idea! I am going to be testing it out ASAP!!! I am always wanting ways to simplify technology and find better ways to utilize it. I actually see the possibilities for something like this could be endless.

    Now, if they could just find a way to make it do housework it would be perfect!!!

    Aaron

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Aaron, I think you will really enjoy using IFTTT. Yes, you’re right, it simplifies technology for you and makes it work for you. I love how you don’t need to code to write these programs, the work is already done for you.

      If you’re looking for tech help with housework, I recommend The Best App Ever! though your son may be a bit too young for it yet. Soon, though, very soon. 🙂

  12. Jo Harrison says

    I love IFTTT, I have been using it for some time now. It saves me bundles of time especially when I connect it to Buffer to respond to new Twitter followers. I am always looking for new ways to use it too!

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Jo, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad you’re enjoying IFTTT. It’s very helpful to hear from others who enjoy using IFTTT. Do you have any favorite Recipes you would like to share with us?

      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us!

      • Jo Harrison says

        Hi Carolyn,

        My favourites are the RSS feeds which go directly to Buffer… great content for my Twitter followers, I regularly check my Buffer to ensure the content is relevant. I also set-up a link between my FB page and LinkedIn, when I post a status it gets posted on LinkedIn too. The most useful though is when someone on Twitter follows me I can send a personalised message which goes into my Buffer, I can then pop in there a few times per day and post them out. Better than direct messages, and saves me so much time!

        I have a lot of readers/authors following me on Twitter so I also have the recipe when a new eBook gets into the top 10 Kindle chart it sends out a tweet… it’s proved very popular! 🙂

        • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

          Wow, Jo, sounds as if you are really making great use of your IFTTT recipes. You are also using Buffer very effectively. I’m thinking you must have a premium Buffer account to be using it so much.

          I love the Recipe that sends out a tweet when a new ebook gets into the top 10 Kindle list. Brilliant! I will have to check that one out. Thanks for sharing these, Jo! 🙂

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Kim, Thanks for letting us know about Timely. I haven’t used that service before but it looks like it’s worthy trying out!

      Yes, if you get a lot of re-tweets, new followers and mentions, you can use IFTTT very efficiently to show your appreciation. 🙂

  14. Ollie says

    Wow! Talk about efficiency and functionality – all in one. It sounds so techy and yet it remains simple. Glad to find this thing out. I wonder how you were able to know a lot about this thing because this is actually the first time I heard about it. 🙂

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Ollie, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, IFTTT sounds very techy, but it’s so simple to use that you don’t have to be a techie to make it work for you.

      I first saw IFTTT when I was researching Buffer for the Wonder of Tech article, but I didn’t start trying it until a few weeks ago. Once I started using it, I got very excited to share the site with Wonder of Tech readers! :-bd

  15. Sandeep Kumar says

    Hi Carolyn….
    Nice article…
    IFTTT is really new to me but I like its logic and idea behind it.
    Simplicity with effectiveness…..

    Thanks for sharing…

  16. Ashvini says

    Hi Carolyn,

    It is really cool app. There are so many functions in it and it must have taken a lot of work to integrate all of them.
    The important part of any such service is to build a good core and then use it for any purpose by building on top of it.
    I am sure you would be enjoying it a lot. Thanks for telling about it to us :).

    • Carolyn Nicander Mohr says

      Hi Ashvini, You’re right, I’m enjoying using it a lot. I keep going back to find or tweak Recipes.

      I thought of you when I wrote this. I know with your super coding skills you don’t need this site, but then again it might save you some time with coding your own Recipes/programs to make the Internet work for you.

      I hope you enjoy the site too, Ashvini! 🙂

  17. Jens P. Berget says

    Hi Carolyn,

    I tried IFTTT a long time ago, and it was awesome. But, at that time I didn’t find anything that I actually needed to use it for, so I didn’t keep using it. And now, until you wrote about it I had completely forgotten all about it.

    When you combine it with twitter, it makes a lot of sense. There are many things I need to be reminded of every week or every month, and IFTTT can help me with that and I do check Twitter several times every day.

    It’s time to check out what IFTTT can do for me today 🙂

  18. CarolB says

    Not completely sure I get it – I guess I will have to go to the site and give it a try. Then, knowing me, I’ll probably get hooked. 🙂

  19. John Ernest says

    So this website or tool is basically a code generator right? I think it is a pretty great way to learn how to program too. Thanks for sharing this! It would surely help me get the better out of the said resources.