Anybody who uses the Web for business has a great many sites bookmarked, and there are online chores we do daily, some on one site, others on another, and so it goes. Between email, note software, social media sites and others, we’re constantly moving data around between them, and it’s time-consuming. Like many things in business, if there’s a need there will usually be something springing up to fill it. And, IFTTT.com is one of those super-useful solutions.
That’s If This Then That.com. The name says a lot, as what this site does is to take some condition or input from one website or online service and based on conditions you specify takes some action. So, if this happens then that gets done. What the service does is to tie sites and functions together so that we get things done quicker and easier.
They’re called Recipes, and the image shows three examples, in order they do this:
- If I Star an entry in my Google RSS Reader, IFTTT sends it as a note to Evernote.
- If I call a special IFTTT number and leave myself a note, the note is sent to me via Gmail.
- When I tag an item in Google Reader with a special tag, it’s placed in a specified folder in Evernote.
By setting up your various accounts around the Web in IFTTT, you can then use these recipes to tie these services together. There are quite a few available:
There are more, but you’re getting the picture. There are many combinations of recipes and services, and even a sharing function where you can look up recipes others have set up for services you use. This service can help you to do more with your data, emails, phone calls, and text messages. It’s a great time-saver, and at least for now, it’s free. Here are some more examples:
And just a very few of the many shared recipes looks like this:
The only thing you have to lose by checking IFTTT.com out is some time you’re wasting every day on tasks you can automate.