If This Then That Show Notes
Show Notes
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Transcript:
As I said, I'm Jazmin, digital resident and explorer. A few weeks ago I did a review of the basics of the Smarthome Industry. In which, I describe a day in the life of a smarthome owner. Well, many of the cool automated functions I described can be accomplished by using a free service called IFTTT ( I-F-T-T-T).Which stands for If This Then That. And that’s what I'm going to be going in to today. The concept is simple yet can be applied to so many things
What's the concept? Here's the definition on their site "If this then that is a service that lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement: If. This. Then. That". The IFT universe can be broken down and understood by knowing the definition of 5 words. Channels, triggers, actions, ingredients and recipes. So, I'm going to refer back to the website to define them. Channels are the apps that can be triggered within IFT. Examples of channels would be Gmail, Instagram, Nest Thermostat, or various items in a Smarthome hub. (Wemo outlets for example). Triggers, are the THIS part of the phrase "If this then that". An example could be "When I pull in my driveway" or "when I post to facebook". The next word, "action", represents the "THAT". Examples are "Send me a text" or "Turn on the lights". Ingredients are the pieces of data from trigger. So for a geolocation based trigger, I believe the address would be an ingredient. Lastly, we have our recipes. A recipe is the combination of the trigger and action within your active channels. Got it? Ok good.
I went through the set up process and I have to be honest, I was kind of excited. Excited in the way you get when you walk into build a bear or build your own omelet at a buffet. Customization is one of the advantages of the tech industry because it can be all things to all people more or less. First I choose a channel (RSS), then I chose HOW I want the channel to trigger (each time it is updated ), and WHAT I want the channel to trigger (I set it up to post a link to my blog on LinkedIn each time the Living Digital RSS feed is updated). Going through that exercise showed me that there are thousands of recipes to choose from. It's actually an online community where people.
Even though it may seem like Ift is just a way to automate your online life it definitely ties back to the Smarthome. There are channels that connect to Smarthome Items, like any of the GE Quirky products or one of the Wemo outlets. If you already have these products, Ift seems to bring the web to them in a way that it currently wouldn't have access to. Your home could be tied to email, the weather, the news... as well as to it itself. Imagine it being like the elaborate booby-traps we used to see on cartoons except put date in place of pulleys and rubber bands.
I hope this overview of If this then that has been helpful. I'll include a link to the their website as well as the brands mentioned on today's episode on the blog. It's jazminbutler.com/livingdigital. That's J-a-z-m-i-n Lately, I've been getting all my ducks in a row when it comes to distributing the podcast. and..I am proud to say that you can now find Living Digital on Sound Cloud and Stitcher. If you use the podcast app on your iphone like I do, you subscribe to the RSS feed (at jazminbutler.com/livingdigital) so the show can be downloaded immediately each time. If you have suggestions for show topics don't hesitate to email us at iam@livingdigital.me or tweet us @LivingDigital_. Thanks for listening.
Tags: IFTTT, If This Then That, Smarthome, Home Automation, Wemo, Quirky
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