October 22, 2013 Using IFTTT Recipes To Pump Up Your Social Networks

Over the past few weeks I went on an iOS app refresher and went out and started trying bunches of new apps and services to see what was out there and if anything was new and improved. I came across one that I now use primarily for trying my social network activity together and for gathering bits of information into a more manageable flow.

IFTTT is that app. IFTTT stands for If This Then That which is an old, basic programming logic concept. If This (Trigger) Then That (Action). IFTTT calls this simple flow a recipe and the options that are available within the app creates thousands of combinations you can make to do almost anything you want when it comes to gathering and posting.

IFTTT has a pretty simple explanation on how it all works.
A recipe is the If This Then That flow.
A channel is an app or service. It could be Facebook, email, a text message, connection to a home smart device, RSS feed, etc.
Ingredients are pieces of the channel. Those could be the title, description, image, date, URL, time, or specific tags.

You use either the mobile app (iOS or Android) or the website to create a recipe and away you go. Simple yet so powerful.

So what can you do with IFTTT?

How I have been using it is to manage posts and backups from my various social sites. I used to use a site called Twitterfeed to automatically post new blog posts links to my Twitter, Facebook Page, Tumblr, and LinkedIn profile.  I found Twitterfeed to be clunky and limited, IFTTT provided far more control and flexibility to target more specifically and to build a post easier than just take the raw RSS entry.

Here's how it looks on Twitter.

New Binary Blogger Post - Binary Blogger Fantasy Football Week 7 Results - LOSS http://t.co/dKAXGjFqz9
— Binary Blogger (@BinaryBlogger) October 22, 2013

The IFTTT recipes I created to get this blog post to the to other sites are quite simple

• If any new post on my Blogger Blog create a link post on my Tumblr blog.
• If any new post on my Blogger Blog share the link on my LinkedIn profile.
• If any new post on my Blogger Blog share the link on my Twitter account.
• If any new post on my Blogger Blog create a link post on my Facebook Page blog. 

But if you are not a blogger or social network user you can still use IFTTT as a simple yet powerful tool to keep track of your data. Some of the other recipes I created are for quasi-backup purposes and to get updates on topics sent to my email.

I use Twitter pretty heavily and Twitter's ability to get your tweets out as a backup is clunky at best. With IFTTT I created a recipe that sends every tweet I do into a Google Spreadsheet as a backup and archive. A simple yet effective backup.

If you are unsure or want to double up your iPhone backups you can use IFTTT with Dropbox to create a real time backup of your photos.

• Any new photo taken with my iPhone put a copy in my Dropbox. 
• Any new photo added to Instagram put a copy in my Dropbox.
• Any photo you like in Instagram put a copy in my Dropbox.
• If the weather report calls for snow send you a text message to your phone.
• Send yourself an email of the newest books that are free on Amazon.

And so on. IFTTT of course has a social aspect to it that you can share and search for popular recipes. This is the best way to get started and get ideas on how others use IFTTT and to help you get going and see how to construct witty, yet useful recipes. 

In this ever expanding world of social networks you are almost forced to use more than one which is causing disparity, silos, and disconnection across them. IFTTT is a great way to keep all those in sync as keep you in control of them all from a central location. 

If you use any social networks or mobile devices I highly recommend you check IFTTT out.

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Binary Blogger
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Posted in: HowTo,Reviews,Social Media,Technology