TRAVEL TECHIE IFTTT you’re tired of having to post
updates on multiple sites... By Stephan Bazzocchi
S
o here you are in wonderful Winnipeg, spending the lazy summer days dodging the mosquitoes, soaking up the usually beautiful summer weather, and taking in the
sights. You snap a gorgeous picture of the famed Golden Boy. Next step, post it on your Instagram, add a witty title, and hit upload. Ten, log into Facebook, upload there, tag a few peo- ple so they can see the majesty of Manitoba’s torch bearer. Oh wait, you forgot Twitter. More clicking on your smartphone. Don’t forget that hashtag #Winnipeg #youonlybronzeonce, etc. During this time, you have missed the glorious prairie sunset; the sun has retreated to the west, to rest for another day, recuperating from its slow trek across the sky. You take a brief pause to reflect as you cross the Osborne Street Bridge, heading to enjoy the nightlife of the renowned Osborne strip, or perhaps some of the fine gelati in the Corydon area, with its high patio density...if only there was a way to spend less time tapping away at your phone and actually take in the beautiful surroundings that this area offers. In today’s instant commu- nicating, updating, tagging world, it seems downright silly to put the phone away. Tankfully there are some web services to help with this, and in tradition with Winnipeg’s world famous frugalness, it’s free. Te service of which I speak is
https://ifttt.com. When land-
ing on the page, the first thing you are greeted with, in big bold letters is “Put the Internet to Work for You.” Tat state- ment isn’t kidding either. Let’s look at the above, and I will explain how we can make this better using IFTTT so you can sneak in a nice shot of the sun setting over the Assiniboine River as well. So here you are: Golden Boy. Click. Upload to Instagram;
add a couple of magical hashtags, such as #fb, #twtr, #gcal. Done. Oh look, the sunset! Click. Repeat process. You have just updated your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and have also had the photo sent to your dropbox or digital locker of choice,
with a hyperlink to the picture placed in your Google Calen- dar with all the relevant location information. For the cherry on top, there is a heat wave expected in your home town to- morrow when you are scheduled to arrive home after depart- ing our fair city, but you rest easily knowing your Aros air con- ditioner is getting the weather update and is in the process of cooling your home to a nice pleasant temperature. Witchcraft, you scream as you try to comprehend how the process can be so trimmed down to merely three hashtags on a photo upload. Now, let’s look at how this all works. Ifttt uses little programs called recipes in a very basic logical
setup. If this then this. Easy. So to take a look at our glorious Golden Boy picture, this is how it looks. If I am uploading to Instagram with the hashtag of fb then upload the picture to Facebook as well. If I am adding the hashtag twtr, upload to Twitter. If I am using #gcal (this is where the fancy stuff comes in) upload it to my dropbox folder of “Winnipeg trip” (or whatever you desire) and toss a link of it into my Google calendar for the time and date of the upload. Te air condi- tioner control doesn’t even require you to be using your phone. Tat is all controlled in the web interface. Once you have created your account, look at the channels.
You will notice a rather large selection of applications and ser- vices, ranging from the ones mentioned above, to Evernote, to some home automation, to blog services. You then click on the channel you wish, activate it, and then start browsing the recipes. Or build your own. Te options of what you can do with these services and apps are almost limitless. Besides, your phone screen looks the same as it does at home, and with these little tricks, you will spend less time looking at it, and more time taking in the beauty of your surroundings, which leads to more moments shared with those around you. Virtual and physical. Besides, our prairie sunsets don’t last too long, you blink, and you’ve missed a chance to see the sky on fire.
The Hub
Fall 2014 • 63
Photo illustration by ra2studio /
Shutterstock.com
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