Giving you the heads up online
Dear PropellerHeads: Are there any websites for sending email reminders before important dates? I tried using anniversary reminders on greeting card sites, but they sent more ads than reminders.
A: That's the problem with all these "free" services. It turns out there is such a thing as a free lunch, and about half of it is spam. Greeting card sites send reminders before your anniversary and advertisements for flowers. Weather sites send thunderstorm alerts and advertisements for umbrellas. Can't we just get Web services for nothin' and baby chickens for free? (I'm pretty sure I quoted that song right...)
Check out Google Calendar (calendar.google.com), which supports repeating events and email reminders.
Then think bigger. That's what Linden Tibbets did when he had an idea for "digital duct tape" that connects "any two services together." He called the site "if this then that," or ifttt for short (ifttt.com).
The idea is simple: If this happens, then that other thing should happen. "This" could be the temperature dropping, a stock price rising, or - here's where you come in - "my anniversary approaching." Ifttt responds to an impressive number of these "triggers," ranging from "if I receive an email" to "if I'm tagged in a Facebook photo."
If any of these triggers occur, then "that" happens. "That" could be "send me an email," "post a link on my Facebook wall," or "add an event to my calendar." Ifttt can even send text messages and call you. These are called "actions," so the basic formula is that "triggers cause actions."
Triggers and actions are grouped into channels to make them easier to find. There are channels for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Gmail. There are more than 40 in all, including Weather, Stocks and Date/Time (for remembering anniversaries).
A trigger/action combination is called a "task." You might have a task that specifies "if it's Sept. 20, then email a reminder to buy Gretchen flowers." On a related note, "if someone starts selling my possessions on craigslist, then call my phone."
The Weather and Stock channels are especially useful. "If it will rain tomorrow, then email me." "If the temperature hits 70, then call my phone and say 'Time for a walk.'" "If MSFT stock rises above 30, then send me a text message."
Other tasks are nerdy. "If I upload new photos to Facebook, then copy them to an online backup service." "If I share a link on Facebook, then share it on LinkedIn too."
Blog notifications can be handy too. "If Amazon posts a free song or eBook, then email me." Another sure-to-be popular one is "if the PropellerHeads update their blog, then send a chat notification."
Here's a favorite for anyone routinely called into boring meetings at work: "If it's 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, then call my phone" (so I can fake an emergency and leave early).
Shared tasks are called "recipes." Visit ifttt.com/recipes to browse some popular ones, like "If I update my profile picture on Facebook, then update my Twitter profile to use the same picture." Try out ifttt.com/recipes/21876 to get emailed whenever we PropellerHeads post to our blog.
Our only real complaint is that using the browser's "back" button when creating a task doesn't work as expected. Instead of going back to the previous step, it starts the task creation process all over. But the service is free, so we can tolerate a lack of polish on an otherwise well-designed site.
Check it out now, because they don't have a trigger for "if my wife kicks me out of the house."
When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.