Using If This Then That to Automate Your Life

Date Published: 24 October 2011

Using If This Then That to Automate Your Life

I’ve just started getting into If This Then That (ifttt.com) and have set up a simple task that will update my Steve Smith Facebook Page whenever I post something here to my blog.  Getting this set up was extremely simple to do, and so far although I’ve only been using it for about an hour I’m quite impressed and enamored with ifttt.com.  Here’s how easy it is to set up something like this:

1. Register with ifttt.com

This took 30 seconds.

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2. Create a task

If this (the trigger):

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Then (the action to take – create a new Link Post on my Facebook Page):

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End Result:

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This is actually the first post I’m making since adding this task, so if this post shows up on my Facebook Page then it worked.

Recipes

You don’t have to reinvent every wheel with If-This-Then-That.  They support the notion of recipes, which are basically combinations of triggers and tasks that others have found useful and shared.  For instance, right now the most popular recipe is one that will automatically save to a folder in DropBox every photo that someone tags you in on Facebook.  Another popular one will automatically email you if the weather forecast calls for rain tomorrow (perhaps to say, “Don’t forget your umbrella!”).  There are over five thousand recipes available so far, so it’s a good place to browse for ideas for how you might use If-This-Then-That to automate some of your life.

Do you have a favorite recipe or use for If-This-Then-That?  Please let me know in the comments below.

Steve Smith

About Ardalis

Software Architect

Steve is an experienced software architect and trainer, focusing on code quality and Domain-Driven Design with .NET.