Thursday Buzz: IFTTT Gets Ambitious

One of the most popular tools for automating online actions just got a big upgrade.

IFTTT (which stands for “if this, then that”) replaced its longstanding approach to automation—which it called “recipes”—with a new strategy called “applets.” The big difference with this approach is that the tools can now do multiple things at once, rather than just one thing at a time.

“Applets can do everything that Recipes could — and much more,” the company states in a blog post  (opens in a new tab). “They bring your services together, creating new experiences that you can unlock with a single switch. A house that welcomes you, an efficient workplace, an easier way to stay informed — there are thousands of experiences to choose from, or you can create your own.”

That’s a great upgrade of IFTTT’s capabilities, but as CNET notes  (opens in a new tab), it comes with a catch: Only third-party partners will be allowed to make these multistep applets at first. The idea, the site reports, is that partners will work with the company and integrate their applet offerings into their products.

While IFTTT will allow “makers” to do multistep applets eventually, the developers will have to ask the company to give them access to the tools—a process that requires telling IFTTT exactly what will be done.

If you’d like to try multistep automation now, there’s always the IFTTT competitor Zapier  (opens in a new tab).

Tweet of the day

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/793901891553882112

Drawing new attendees to your events is essential. So why keep giving attendees the same thing every year? This Wild Apricot tweeted video clip makes the case for moving events to new locations each year; it’s short and insightful and worth a watch.

Also worth reading is this Wild Apricot blog post  (opens in a new tab) that offers up a series of “hacks” for boosting your event’s attendance.

Other Links of Note

What can cultural organizations learn from the 2016 election? At her blog Know Your Own Bone, Colleen Dilenschneider offers some points  (opens in a new tab) that are valid, no matter the party.

WordPress is incredibly popular and widely used. Gartner recently reflected on this popularity by naming its parent company, Automattic, as a web content management visionary. CMS Wire contributor David Roe analyzes the reasons  (opens in a new tab) for the platform’s success.

Not using a password manager? Now might be a good time, Lifehacker writes  (opens in a new tab), because LastPass just changed its model  (opens in a new tab) to allow users to access their password vault on multiple devices for free.

(IFTTT screenshot)