Automate the Web with "If This Then That"

The website http://ifttt.com, which stands for "If This Then That," allows you to makes things happen online as a result of something else happening. The If/Then is a reference to logical casusality, and in this case basically means,"if this one thing happens on the internet, then do this other thing automatically." They explain it very well on their "About" page.

There already are some tools that offer consequence-action services (like Google Alerts, getting an email if someone comments on your flickr photos, using Twitterfeed to automatically tweet blog posts, etc). This one, however, seems to be the most versatile, because it isn't service-dependent, it does more than just notifications, and it lets you manage all your notifications from one service.

There are lots of triggers and actions available, and it seems limited only by your imagination. But of course, like with any online tool, the more you use it, the bigger impact you'll feel if it suddenly goes away - which never stopped me before.

This is a tool I think peoople can use on an individual basis - I say this because it offers notifications by text, phone, and email, and triggers can be calendar events, feeds, and more.