IFTTT: Bringing Web Applications to a New Level

IFTTT (shortened “If This Then That”) is a service that allows users to conveniently connect different web applications such as Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote and Weather. IFTTT is using simple conditional statements which the company call “Recipes.” The Recipes should fit into “if this then that.”

Breaking down the parts of the Recipe, the “this” part represents the Trigger. “I am tagged on a Facebook photo” is an example of Trigger. On the other hand, the “that” part represents the Action. An example of Action for the Trigger “I am tagged on a Facebook photo” could be “Send me a notification on Facebook.” This combination of Trigger and Action is called Recipe.

Since IFTTT developer Linden Tibbets introduced the service in 2010, IFTTT is offering service for 121 channels. Among them are Flickr, Twitter, Foursquare and Box. In June 2012, IFTTT was integrated with Belkin WeMo as the service entered the so called Internet of Things space. IFTTT can now be combined with other services like Yahoo! Pipes to build a more elaborate system that makes consumption of contents from different sources easier.

Critics may view the idea of IFTTT as somewhat nerdy. This observation motivated Tibbets to make the service as simple as possible. Such a mission was expressed within the first line of IFTTT’s internal guidebook: “IFTTT enables everyone to take creative control over the flow of information.”

Aside from what IFTTT does on the social media network, the service can also be used to track down a stolen property. The service may be used to send an email notification or text message as the serial number of a stolen item appears on Craigslist. Just recently, a man who lost his bike created a Recipe instructing the service to send him an email as soon as a bike frame that fits his description shows up on the web. The man ultimately got his bike back.

Tibbets began working on IFTTT in 2010 in his small apartment. This was just the beginning. From his apartment, IFTTT has moved to a business office in San Francisco. From a one-man gang, IFTTT has evolved into an eight-employee company. Tibbets and his team are working hard to realize plans of expansion in many different ways. Among the new channels that IFTTT wanted to incorporate into the service include sports, personal finance and e-commerce.