IFTTT’s major overhaul
If This, Then That (IFTTT) is what we call the duct tape of the digital world, as it can connect disparate social networks and digital services together to do things they cannot do on their own. Want all Gmail inbox messages you star to be sent to Evernote? Want every Instagram photo you take to automatically be featured on your blog? Want every photo you’re tagged in to automatically be added to your Dropbox? Want to tweet all of your Google+ posts? Or how about getting a text any time it is going to rain or your boss emails you? That’s the magic of IFTTT.
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> Check out how to set up IFTTT for yourself, and 27 creative things you can do with IFTTT.
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Needless to say, we are all huge fans of the free service, and might literally die if it were to shut down – many on the team have digital lives held together with the IFTTT magic glue. Today, the company has announced a new look, new language, new channels, and faster triggers. The new logo is seen above, and is inspired by “the idea that the combination of two basic elements can yield new value and meaning.”
Major changes at IFTTT
The team has simplified the language on the site, unifying everything under the term Recipes, so tasks are now Personal Recipes, and there are also Shared Recipes. They’ve renamed Add-ins to Ingredients, so everything ties together much better now.
Quick Triggers have also been added, as identified by the lightning bold icon, and channels that support these are email, SMS, phone, GoogleTalk, and the new WeMo channels.
WeMo? What’s that? Oh yeah, it’s home automation!
IFTTT did not brag nearly enough about their “first foray into the physical world,” as they slid in under the radar that IFTTT now works with Belkin’s WeMo devices, which allow you to control home electronics from anywhere. ANYWHERE. Turn on a light, turn off a television, trigger your desktop computer with motion, or put them on a schedule from your mobile device. Check out the WeMo devices, and what what IFTTT can make them do. It’s awesome.
The company has made major strides since their launch as they continue to streamline the world’s digital efforts in a way that even a thousand coders in a room couldn’t do as quickly. It’s sheer brilliance, and it’s free.
Lani is the COO and News Director at The American Genius, has co-authored a book, co-founded BASHH, Austin Digital Jobs, Remote Digital Jobs, and is a seasoned business writer and editorialist with a penchant for the irreverent.