Saturday, January 3, 2015

Netiquette IQ Blog Of The Day IFTTT - A Definition And Its Relationship With The Internet Of Things And Social Media


As of late, I have written a number of posts on the Internet of Things. Here is a product which is a manifestation of this movement which may be a staple for users for many years.
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From Wilipedia

IFTTT is a web-based service in which users can create chains of simple conditional statements, called "recipes," that are triggered based upon changes to other web services such as Gmail, Google Reader, Instagram, Craigslist. IFTTT is an abbreviation of "If This Then That" and is pronounced like "gift" without the "g."

An example recipe might consist of sending an e-mail message if the IFTTT user tweets a certain hashtag. Or, if the user's photo is tagged by someone on Facebook then that photo will be added to the user's cloud-based photo archive.

IFTTT: ' We're building an intelligence layer for the internet of things'
Article from The Guardian.com Connecting social signals with physical devices, If This Then That is aiming for the mainstream with its endlessly useful control panel for the internet
IFTTT can connect physical objects with social signals, and is aiming to create “an intelligence layer” across the internet of things, says its founder. 
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Jemima Kiss
Wednesday 31 December 2014 10.13 EST 

 Could 2015 be the year that IFTTT goes mainstream? IFTTT, or If This Then That, has become part of the internet furniture for many in the tech community, becoming the default way to connect one internet service to another. 

 If you’d like to get a text reminder to take an umbrella if rain is forecast, or automatically save your Instagram pictures to Dropbox, or post a scheduled message to Twitter on New Years Eve - then IFTTT is for you. Or, if you prefer, there’s a recipe that will automatically phone you when you arrive in New York and play Jay Z’s Empire State of Mind. 

There are already more than 140 services plugged in to IFTTT, from Facebook, Twitter and Gmail through to Yo, Slack and WeMo, and two new channels are added every week. And there are, it is estimated, more than 16m combinations - excluding the record collection, with location itself also added recently.

‘Giving people more control over every day devices’
But beyond connecting web services, IFTTT has far bigger ambitions, explains founder and CEO Linden Tibbets. Its future, he believes, is in connecting the internet of things - everyday devices and objects increasingly being given internet capability to be monitored, controlled and connected online. 
 “It’s about giving people control over services and devices they use every day,” he says. “In the physical world we have a kind of intuitive understanding of objects around us and are constantly modifying those for our needs, so there’s an intuitive control we’re after in the digital age, and that’s especially important as those two are on a collision course to merge.”

Still in its infancy, the internet of things seems focused on connecting seemingly “dumb” objects for novelty, he says. “But the second phase of the internet of things is in building up the ecosystem around gaming consoles, phones and devices like [home monitoring technology] Nest. We’re starting to see some valuable in that kind of hub,” he says, pointing to reduced utility bills and the convenience of being able to control the temperature of your home or be warned about safety issues - a fire, or gas leak - from afar.

“The real value happens in phase three when we can aggregate across all these platforms - an intelligence layer across the internet of things.”
 IFTTT is on a push to add physical device controls to its hub, which currently includes the smart garden sprinkler Rachio Iro, the Parrot Flower Power sensor which monitors the health of plants and Aros, a smart air conditioning controller that can automatically adjust according to the weather forecast, your holiday schedule or even your budget. WeMo’s range of app-connected light switches, motion detectors and sockets are also included and have a wide range of applications.
 ‘Using pictures signifies something much bigger’

Founded by Tibbets and his brother in 2011, IFTTT has had $38.5m investment, with the latest round of $30m, from Norwest Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz in August 2014, focused on building its offering as a control hub for the internet of things. Tibbets won’t say how many users IFTTT has, but it’s in the millions with recipes being run more than 18m times per day.
Though a staple among developers, Tibetts says the site is constantly trying to refine examples that explain the site for new users because it is hard to visualise so many potential combinations. IFTTT, he says, has a very distinct visual language, with overlarge fonts designed to echo the language of children’s books and imply simplicity.

 He refers to Edward Tufte’s design work on sparklines. “These are little graphs that can be embedded in sentences. It’s an idea that goes back to Leonardo and Archimedes - using pictures to represent something much bigger - and that was a big inspiration. Take something like programming, that is syntax based, and you can use pictures and logos that people have such a deep association with. The Twitter bird - you know what that means, that logo represents your relatisonship and so is a catalyst for so much more.”

The process of creating a recipe (a combination of services) is a heavily simplified and visual, with as few clicks as possible, and the logos are a key part of that. 
 ‘Would you like IFTTT to save that Instagram picture to Dropbox?’
As part of the ambition to make IFTTT “a foundational layer” for the internet of things, a next step is to make recipes a fixed part of third party apps. So where Instagram users are offered the choice of posting to Facebook and Twitter, they might be offered an IFTTT recipe too. 
“If we recognise that you’re manually posting to Instagram, could we automate that for you?” says Tibbets. “Over the next 10 to 20 years, we will be building for inputs that are as much social signals as mechanical inputs, so thinking about touch points like getting into an Uber car as a way of interacting with the service.” 

 Some of the “abstract challenges” of IFTTT are to read the inferred intent within an action as a trigger for another task. Maybe your weight reaching 70kg would switch to your lower calorie Ocado order, or clicking your fingers on the doorstep after your jog would set the bath running. Or maybe no emails, texts of Facebook posts from a friend would automatically notify you to call them.
 There isn’t enough discussion about ethics at business school
And with so much potential for so many different uses, how does IFTTT protect itself from any unethical use of the service? A lack of ethical oversight has played a part in many recent technology stories, from Snowden to Whisper to the Right to be Forgotten.

“There’s a healthiness in scepticism, so if you’re a consumer and feel your privacy is not respected then just don’t use that service,” says Tibetts. “The general mistrust the media has been able to spotlight is good, because it has made us have a dialogue about it. 

“When you invent something the moral framework does come second. But there isn’t enough discussion at business school about ethics, because if you can build trusty and maintain it that is incredibly powerful - it becomes not just a product but a movement that people want to believe in. 
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In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ.

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.
Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.Anyone who would like to review the book and have it posted on my blog or website, please contact me paul@netiquetteiq.com.
If you have not already done so, please view the trailer for my book below. 
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Netiquette IQ Quote Of The Day On Communication In Today's Social Media World

"The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate."
Joseph Priestley
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In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ.

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.

Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.Anyone who would like to review the book and have it posted on my blog or website, please contact me paul@netiquetteiq.com.

If you have not already done so, please view the trailer for my book below. 
=============================================== 
 
 

Friday, January 2, 2015

Netiquette Basics For Times To Communicate By Email, Texting, Social Media, Even By Phone! Via Netiquette IQ

I have written about in my blog and book about optimal times to email someone. The article below offers tips on other forms of communication as well. All of these are part of Netiquette and share many similar traits.
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Call Me . . . Maybe

By Frank Sonnenberg 18 Comments franksonnenbergonline.com

Would you use voicemail to fire someone, recite your marriage vows in an e-mail, or end a romantic relationship via text? –– Of course not. But unfortunately, these communication media are used inappropriately every day. The fact is, each form of communication — face-to-face conversations, telephone calls, social media, e-mails, and texting — has its advantages and disadvantages. So, if you’re partial to one communication medium simply because you’re comfortable with it, you’re likely to get burned. When it comes to communication, one size doesn’t fit all. So, call me . . . maybe.

What Are You Trying to Achieve?
Before you select the right communication medium, there are many factors to consider: Is the subject matter important or trivial? Are there specific goals for the conversation or are you merely keeping in touch? Is the communication urgent? Is the subject matter sensitive? Will one person or several people be involved? What’s the availability of your contact(s)? Will everyone be in the same time zone? Will the communication be primarily one way (a directive) or is dialogue necessary? Is there a need to keep a written record of the exchange?

Face-to-face conversation. There’s nothing like a face-to-face conversation for building a relationship, discussing sensitive information, or making sure that everyone is on the same page. Face-to-face conversations enable you to look into someone’s eyes while they’re talking, hear the inflection in their voice, and observe their body language. But meeting individually with several people may be costly and logistically difficult to engineer. That’s where telephone calls and video chats come in.

Telephone calls and video chats. If you’re catching up with busy people in various locations, telephone calls and video chats are very efficient modes of communication. Plus, when the subject matter is important, or sensitive items are discussed, these modes facilitate two-way dialogue. The fact is, being able to hear voice inflection and sense the sender’s intent helps to avoid misunderstandings that can occur with written communication. A video chat takes it one step further and allows you to pick up on nonverbal cues — crossed arms, raised eyebrows, and even smiles. But I can assure you that no one’s sitting around waiting for your call. So, advance notice is a good idea, or the person you are trying to reach might not be available to talk when you call –– think phone tag. If you do reach them without prior notice, it’s always polite to ask if you’re calling at a convenient time before launching into your conversation.

Social media. Remember how easy it was to keep in touch with friends when you were in college? You’d see folks on campus, in the student union, cafeteria, or library — or even in class. Of course, when everyone went their separate ways, it became harder to remain in touch; that is, until social media hit the scene. Now, you can make new friends and stay in touch with old ones around the world –– from your living room.

Social media makes it easy to exchange small talk, share an article or video, or join a discussion group. And you can choose to be an active participant or remain a fly on the wall. But remember, if you are conducting a sensitive conversation or ranting about an issue close to your heart, your five hundred closest friends may be listening in. Furthermore, who knows who else has access to the information? Many people think that once a post is deleted, it’s gone from the Internet. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Your digital footprint follows you everywhere and can catch up with you one day.

E-mail. When you write an e-mail, you can make sure that your message is “perfectly” worded before hitting “Send.” And the recipient can read it at their convenience –– alleviating telephone tag. In addition, e-mail provides a record of the conversation if you think there will be a need to refer back to it at a later time. But e-mails can create misunderstandings because you can’t hear the tone of the sender’s voice or see their body language. In fact, it’s common to think the sender had an attitude or was angry when the e-mail was written, which could be the furthest thing from the truth. On the other hand, when conversations take place in person or by phone, questions can be answered and misunderstandings clarified. The bottom line is, e-mails are great if you want to build your relationship with your pen pal, but they won’t do much to strengthen a friendship.

Texting. If you have an urgent request, want to remind someone to bring home milk, or let someone know that you arrived at your destination safely, think about texting. But it’s less than optimal if you’re using texts to conduct a serious conversation or trying to explain something in detail. Plus, although it may be a convenient time for you to send the text, unlike e-mail, the recipient receives it instantly and you may be interrupting the recipient during a busy time.
The bottom line . . . According to UCLA research, 55 percent of meaning in an interaction comes from facial and body language and 38 percent comes from vocal inflection. Only 7 percent of an interaction’s meaning is derived from the words themselves. This is confirmed by MIT research that says it is advisable to use electronic communication, such as texting, tweeting, and e-mail, only to transmit and confirm simple information.

Better Communication: A Wake-up Call
Please don’t get wedded to one communication tool just because you’re familiar with it. Today, you have many tools at your disposal. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. And, just as it’s critical to package a great idea properly if you want it to be well received, choosing the right communication vehicle will have as much impact as the message itself. That’s why the next time you have something to say, you have a choice: Give thought to the best way to communicate your message or spend your time doing damage control afterward.
So, call me . . . maybe.
In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ.

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.

Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.Anyone who would like to review the book and have it posted on my blog or website, please contact me paul@netiquetteiq.com.

If you have not already done so, please view the trailer for my book below. 
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Netiquette IQ Quotation Of The Day - A Technology View From Doug Adams ( Dilbert )


"First we thought the PC was a calculator. Then we found out how to turn numbers into letters with ASCII — and we thought it was a typewriter. Then we discovered graphics, and we thought it was a television. With the World Wide Web, we’ve realized it’s a brochure."

–Douglas Adams
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In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ.

I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems, a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email, network management software, security products and professional services.  Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.

Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.Anyone who would like to review the book and have it posted on my blog or website, please contact me paul@netiquetteiq.com.

If you have not already done so, please view the trailer for my book below. 
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