IF THEN
Have you ever found yourself doing something that you feel like someone or something else should be doing for you and go "damn, I really wish my computer would do this for me!"? Well me too. And so did the folks who made If This Then That (IFTTT for short).
IFTTT is a very cool website that allows you to create custom "recipes" to basically automate things for you without you having to learn any programming languages. The way it works is you connect your existing accounts or sign up for new accounts for things they call "channels", like Gmail, Google Calendar, Nest, FitBit, Craigslist, Twitter... basically any software or smart device that they've hooked up with (there are currently 366 different channels, and they're adding more all the time), and you can create a "recipe" that will do something for you when something happens. They have tons of pre-made recipes up there already you can start with. If you create your own recipe, you can publish it!
Here are some examples:
Text me when a VIP sends me an email
IF my gmail receives an email from a specific sender
THEN send me a text message to alert me about it
Farm Tractor Tweets
IF an Ebay search finds a new posting for a used tractor for sale,
THEN send a tweet about it along with a photo on twitter!
Receive an email if there will be rain in your area tomorrow
IF the weather forecast shows rain is predicted in your area,
THEN send an email to you letting you know
If the temp rises over 99F, email the president about global warming
IF the current weather goes over 99 degrees Fahrenheit,
THEN send an email to the president about global warming
There are tons of other great recipes (including some that are actually useful) so I encourage you to explore and see if you can find any that you might use.
Cheers!
Daniel
