IFTTT stands for if this, then that. Probably doesn’t make a lot of sense on the surface, or seems quite obvious.

So what is it?

You have all these different applications on your phone, tablet and online all either taking up your time or helping you do something in one way or another.

If this then that, is a way of making some of these things work together automatically, based on a set of conditions and rules you set.

These conditions and statements are called applets, and are a web based service, which runs on your mobile device like Android or Apple IOS.

As if our lives are not already running fast enough, it looks like we can still speed it up a lot with a huge amount of applets already available and many more being developed every day.

What can We Do With IFTTT

There are many different types of applets out there.

Many people refer to them as recipes as you can easily make them up yourself.

Think of it as, there is a trigger when a condition is met, and then an action is performed between apps and services.

A simple example is, every time I include a specific hashtag in Twitter, it will trigger a mail action and send an email.

IFTTT with Ring Door Bell

The Ring Door Bell seems like a good place to start, as many of my customers and people in Townsville already have one and its such a great device many recipes already exist.

For anyone who doesn’t know, RING is a smart door bell which connects to your WIFI, and you can monitor and even talk through to your guest at the door, even from the other side of the world!

• Blink your smart lights every time your door bell rings – Great for people with impaired hearing or people who play loud music constantly.
• Play a specific custom message when someone rings your door bell.
• Displays notification on your LaMetric Time when someone when someone rings your doorbell.
• Save a list of Doorbell rings in Google Drive on a spread sheet automatically.

IFTTT with Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa is a personal assistant. You might have already seen the little Echos in peoples homes.

You can ask them questions, as they are connected to the internet, as well as other actions such as reminders and connecting it to other smart devices like likes, so you can say, Alexa turn on Kitchen light in the middle of the night when you walk out.

• Find my phone Alexa – I use this always as I am misplacing mt phone all over the place.
• Turning your computer on and off.
• Opening your garage door.
• Adding items to your shopping list on your phone.

Other Fun and Useful IFTTT

• Turn your smart lights green when you hit your daily steps goal.
• Turn your phone silent automatically when you arrive at work.
• Automatically log your gym visits in a spread sheet when you arrive and leave.
• Send your missed calls notification to a slack channel.
• Sync your Twitter and Facebook profile pictures automatically. When you upload to one it changes the other also.
• When someone tags you in a Facebook photo, automatically upload the image to your Dropbox.
• Receive weather notifications on certain days – good when heading out on the water on Sunday morning.