I checked out a really cool tool (see how that rhymes?) today that I liked but I'm not sure I'm going to use beyond this class. IFTTT stands for If This Then That.  The concept behind IFTTT is  great, and the application is easy to navigate but  I have security concerns and I'll address that at the end.  First, let me briefly tell you about IFTTT. I say briefly because I've written this blog about IFTTT already and just as I hit Save, the power went out. When it returned there was no blog post (crying). I want you to know I had lovely commentary telling you how to log in and set up your account but it's gone.  Let me just say the process is easy and will take less than 3 minutes.  When you move around the site, the word you'll see over and over again is RECIPES. These recipes drive what IFTTT can do for you - automate many of the processes you carry out often and that usually require two to three steps into one step.  Let's take a look at the first recipe I looked at in IFTT.

I started here in New Recipes We Love:

Using the recipe I can save photos I take with my camera to Google Drive automatically or save photos I've been tagged in on Facebook to my photo album on my phone.  These two actions are linked in a trigger action sequence (IF---> THEN) reducing the number of steps I have to complete for the same task.  Once I set it in motion, I don't need to do anything.  The saving happens immediately without my assistance.  I checked out a few more of the featured recipes like Recipes for Wedding and Recipes for Small Business Owners and yes, there's a Recipes for Educators.  I'm going to show you some of the common features in all of the recipes.  

There are Do recipes: 

The "Get yourself out of an awkward situation" Do recipe enables you to have your phone call you as if someone was on the other end.  A sorrowful "Oh no!" on your part and a "I'm on my way!" let's you leave an awkward social interaction without being rude. "There's an emergency. I have to leave." Great tool for those conversations that never seem to end when you're in a rush.  

There are also If recipes: 

I can create a recipe that sends me an alert or notification if the weather report at 7 AM indicates that it's going to rain.  I might  need to make alternate plans for getting to campus. Walking might not be a good idea today! Do you get it? IF this then THAT! IF the forecast says rain then Notify Me (THAT).  

There are different recipes for Android and IOS users.  I use i-devices. They are all synched.  I have security concerns because I essentially give IFTTT access to lots and lots of information about me and what I do. I'm not sure I want to do that but I love how the application works.  Try it out and let me know what you think? Should I be concerned about security breaches or am I just a little paranoid? What did you think about its accessibility and ease of use? Can you think of a recipe that would automate processes that now take two or three steps in IFTTT?  I look forward to hearing from you!! By the way, you know it was coming, it's FREE!!!