If you, then internet
IFTTT is a free new service that automates the internet for you. Building custom triggers upon existing channels like Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, Google Reader, Email, Instapaper, Flickr, etc., one can create new automated commands to accommodate all kinds of needs. Some liken the system to the way Lego blocks work, while Linden Tibbets, Founder, likes to think of it as “digital duct tape if you will,” since it’s neither a programming language, nor a fancy new app building tool. It capitalizes on the capabilities of existing services and networks and combines them in original and unexpected ways. Basically, be your own online digital MacGyver.
For instance, you can call the service from your phone or Google Voice account and leave a message that will be transcribed into text and posted to your Twitter account. This can be accomplished via SMS too, although it’s available only in the US for now. IFTTT doesn’t target social media specifically. Can’t seem to remember your girlfriend’s birthday? Set up a trigger to send you a text message on that day to remind you. Or have the service send your workaholic friend a tweet at noon every day saying”remember to eat,“ so that…you know, they don’t forget to eat lunch.
With the internet already spawning many new ways of speaking, IFTTT further extends this continually growing relationship between communication and technology. Even the IFTTT Ideas blog (a blog where users can share new tasks generated through IFTTT) begins to speak a strange kind of internet generated programmer poetry of its own.
We’ve come a long way from Angela Bennett ordering pizza from her PC. Over a year ago, I was walking up Polk Street in San Francisco with my good friend Jesse Tane, now co-founder of IFTTT, as he explained to me Tibbet’s idea of a project still in its primordial state. From my vague recollection it was something along the notion of tagging (in a digital sense) everything you own and being able to access it through the web. I probably nodded my head and said, “Hmmm, interesting.” Suffice to say, my little brain didn’t have to go far beyond the idea of “everything on the internet” before it stopped working. But with more people (and “things” in general, devices, etc.) becoming part of the internet, you can envision a time not far away when the core idea of IFTTT is just a part of every day life. Having a hard time waking up during the dark winter mornings? Just make sure your web-enabled bedside lamp is synced with local weather feeds so it can turn on gradually and simulate sunrise at the right time. Left the air conditioner on during a hot summer day with no one home? What about logging in to your house with your smart phone, and turn down the internet-equipped thermostat? Everything on the internet. The internet on everything.
IFTTT is still in private beta right now, with many more invites going out every day. It is a fun thing to play around with, if you can get your hands on an invite. Now if only there was an easier way to say “IFTTT”…
(LA Hall @LA_Hall_)