ifttt allows anyone to set up a chain of conditional actions between a wide variety of web services, like "If I post a photo to Flickr, save it to my Dropbox." The company calls these "recipes." We wrote about the service when it launched to the public in September. Microsoft's Scott Hanselman also wrote up a nice review of the service and says "this is going to be huge." ifttt isn't just a single service, though, and it isn't even just an amalgamation of multiple services strung-together; it's a great example of a whole paradigm of DIY mashups. As Blogger and WordPress were to self-publishing and YouTube was to video publishing, so ifttt could be to working with interlinked web applications for everyday people. Can this startup herald a new era of lay hackers? The UI is good, the only question is whether there's really enough demand for such a service.

Here's how the startup introduced itself at launch:

"We began with the theory that as our digital tools became more domain specific and easier to use, there would be vast amounts of creative potential in how any two tools might be used in tandem. We knew that with this immense potential came a problem of equal proportions. There just aren't enough developers and designers in the world to craft all these connections. A million developers at a million laptops wouldn't even make a dent. So we set out to build an incredibly simple tool that anyone could use to define creative, event-driven tasks that fit the pattern 'if this then that.'"

If there's anyone who can pull something like this off, having experience at IDEO is great background from which to give it a shot.

The most popular ifttt recipes are here; co-founder Linden Tibbets's are here.

Is this something that a whole lot of people are going to be interested in and go to the trouble to do? I know I am and I wouldn't be surprised to see that you are, RWW readers, but it will be interesting to see how this becomes a business. Either way, it's great to see one of the web's most interesting investors back something so focused on generating creative use of online tools.

SumblineVideo made headlines earlier this year when the company behind the player, Jilion, revealed a site that demonstrated what its fast, plugin-free video player could do. By plugin-free, we're referring to video that works using the upcoming Web standard known as HTML5, the core markup language used to create the pages of the World Wide Web. In this version of the spec, video embeds are supported within the standard itself, which positions the very language of the Web itself as a competitor to Adobe Flash, the ubiquitous technology that has been used to display Web-based video for years.

Although at the time of its launch, Jilion's player interface was somewhat overly simplified - it lacked volume controls, for example - it already supported a number of features that other HTML5-based video deployments from big companies like YouTube and Vimeo did not, such as full screen mode.

Since its initial unveiling, the SublimeVideo project has continued to evolve, adding more features like Firefox and mobile support, plus a "fall back to Flash" mode for older browsers that don't support modern Web standards like HTML5. However, even in these scenarios, the player interface - whether Flash or HTML5 - would remain the same.

What's a Video-Player-as-a-Service?

According to Jilion, the goal of the new service at SublimeVideo.net is to provide a "practical and rational way" to enable HTML5 Video. "HTML5 Video could be a real pain to deploy," the company explained via blog post. Traditionally, Web publishers have had to stay on top of the numerous different browser platforms, both on the desktop and mobile, and have had to continuously manage their video player deployments to make sure that browser updates don't break whatever video player or technology they currently use. "This is just not realistic for the vast majority of websites," says Jilion.

Instead, the SublimeVideo platform, a "video-player-as-a-service" offering, allows anyone - even "mere mortals," Jilion jokes - to quickly and easily deploy video without having to worry with browser incompatibilities, updates, coding, bug fixes or any of the other issues that could get in the way of making the switch from Flash to HTML5 Video.

In addition, the service provides features beyond the simple player embed code, including real-time usage analytics on the back-end and, automatic near-instantaneous updates and player delivery via an unnamed, but claimed to be "low-latency," "fast and reliable" Content Delivery Network.

How to Get Into the Beta

Of course, none of these claims have been tested yet by video experts or Web publishers - the new service is just launching into beta today. A "notify-me" form has been set up on sublimevideo.net and invites will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. During the beta period, the company will fine-tune the service, squash any bugs that may arise and determine what the pricing model will be for when the service launches publicly.

To head of the comments from the Adobe folks, for whom who this player is clearly a concern: yes, we understand that calling something "HTML5 Video," is a somewhat casual, watered-down way of describing a combination of HTML5's video tag and a supported video codec like H.264, the latter being something that may vary from browser to browser. But that's not us calling SublimeVideo an "HTML5 Video Player," it's Jilion, so take your argument up with them.

Besides, to debate the semantics of the name is clouding the issue. What SublimeVideo has created is a universal, copy-and-paste video player which even non-developers can use, and that's something worth noting. That said, in its present form the player does not appear to offer the powerful back-end advertising and analytics capabilities that those using Flash have access to - or those using one of the many upcoming video platform providers like Brightcove, who has advertising and analytics on their 2010 roadmap, MeFeedia, Ooyala or the new solution from mDialog, for that matter. But it does have the capability to move HTML5 Video forward in a dramatic way by greatly simplifying the complexities of deployment. Hopefully, it will lower the cost, too, but that remains to be seen.

Want your app to talk to Twitter? There's a button for that. Want your app to use text-to-speech? No problem. Use the GPS? Piece of cake. Or so says Google, who had tested the app for a year prior to launch with groups that included "sixth graders, high school girls, nursing students and university undergrads who are not computer science majors," reports The New York Times, who broke the story this morning.

Does that list of testers sound a little odd to you? "It's so easy a high school girl can use it!" Or a nursing student! (A profession still dominated by women, mind you.) In any event, the point The New York Times was making is that Google App Inventor is so easy anyone can use it; they just came about that point in a somewhat sexist way.

Official DIY App Highlights Difference Between Apple and Google Philosophies

But DIY app creation tools aren't new, nor are they unique to Google Android. However, apps like these usually exist as third-party applications, not ones that are officially launched and blessed by the company whose software they support.

For example, in Apple's ecosystem, there are a number of DIY apps that let non-developers create and submit iPhone applications to the iTunes App Store without needing to know Apple's own development language. Last year, we profiled over a dozen of these services, ranging from the templated creations made with Sweb Apps to the more robust app builders from Appcelerator and Rhomobile.

Unfortunately, third-party Apple tools are always just one step away from being knocked out of existence, thanks to Apple's ever-changing software developer kit license. Earlier this year, Apple famously updated its terms to specify that only applications written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript would be permitted in the iTunes Store. The move was a swipe at Adobe, and the intended victim was Adobe's Flash-to-iPhone packager, a tool that would have allowed Adobe developers to code for Apple's platform with Flash. But in Apple's zest to kick out Adobe, other application developers were fearful as well that they, too, would be affected.

Google: Anyone with an Idea is Welcome Here

Google, on the other hand, is taking an entirely different stance than Apple. Instead of locking down its App Market, barring entry to anyone but those who know how to code in the languages it specifies, Google is embracing "openness," saying anyone with an idea is welcome here.

To function, Google's App Inventor uses the Open Blocks Java library for creating visual blocks programming languages. Open Blocks is distributed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Scheller Teacher Education Program and derives from thesis research by Ricarose Roque. It's also closely related to the Scratch programming language - a language, notes Forrester Research principal analyst Jeffrey Hammond, that was banned on the iPhone.

Yes, that may mean a bunch more "junk" applications, as TechCrunch rightly points out. But it could also mean more great applications, too. Or maybe just more of everything. Like Michael Gartenberg, partner at Altimeter Group, quipped on Twitter this morning: "...look how much damage those WYSIWYG word processors and graphics programs have done." Damage? Like a Web where everyone can publish?

Shoutem: Niche Networks for Communities

Having recently exited its beta testing phase, Shoutem's globally available service lets users easily create private mobile social networks without needing programming and development skills. With their platform, anyone can control the access and the design of their network and launch it as a mobile application for the iPhone, Blackberry and soon, Android.

Shoutem recommends using their product to build specialist niche sites for sports fans, clubs and events. Already, some companies have launched their own small networks using the service. NFL Shouts, for example, lets game fans communicate with each other during football season. Ranch and Rodeo, meanwhile, connects an international audience to a destination site where fans can interact.

Socialight: Better for Brands, Businesses...and Mom?

The other company to recently launch something in this space is Socialight. With their new Socialight Community Platform, anyone can create networks which are accessible via the web, a WAP site or an iPhone app. The company seems to have more of an enterprise focus than Shoutem, noting how their tools have helped "companies and brands" create their own apps. However, the tools Socialight provides can be used by anyone, even individuals...even your mom as explained in this video on Vimeo.

Not Just Mobile, Location-Based

What's interesting about both launches is their focus on location-based services. In Socialight's case, they offer tools for sharing geo-tagged photos and other location-based community content, all of which can be viewed on a map interface. From the mobile application, users can upload and share anything - whether that's a photo, video or text - and have it posted to the network.

Shoutem does much of the same thing with tools that enable file and photo uploads. They also target their app to local communities like colleges, cities, restaurants, bars and clubs.

Why Niche Networks for Mobile?

Considering that there are already several popular mobile social networks out there, including Brightkite, Loopt, Gowalla and Foursquare to name a few, you may wonder why people would need to join yet another. The answer to that question is two-fold. One difference is access. These niche networks can be closed communities for just a select group of people working on an invite-only system. The second difference between those publicly available services and the ones designed with these new toolkits is that they are laser-focused on a single purpose. You may not want to spam up your Twitter account where you promote your business to discuss things related to your local book club for example, but you could easily do so via a niche network.

But perhaps an even better example involves how local businesses could use these tools in building apps for their customers. On Socialight's homepage, they're currently featuring "Socialight Concierge," a toolkit for the hotel and tourism industry which lets companies create "curated concierge experiences" where "guests access location-based information about restaurants, shops, and places to visit, together with city tours and historical points of interest, all in a branded environment." The richness of this mobile application goes far beyond anything we've seen with the simplified DIY mobile app building tools. These are no mere informational apps, they're comprehensive networks where some content is managed by the business, but the real value comes from the customers socializing within the community.

You can start building your own network today on Shoutem here or Socialight here.

There's lots of sites on the web where you can create your own comic strips but few of them let you build your own characters. On Toonlet there are seven collections of resizable body parts you can mix and match, including one contributed by comic rock-star Peter Bagge, author of the 90's best seller Hate.

Each character you build can have multiple versions, depending on the mood they are in in a particular panel. The variation of characters and moods makes the site a lot of fun to click through.

The most interesting part of Toonlet is the ability to leave strips as replies. The site's news section is a good place to see this feature in action.

Toonlet is a simple site but one that you, or your kids, might really like. It's technically still unlaunched but some recommendations I'd offer for the future would include the ability to get embed code and to subscribe to RSS feeds. I bet a lot of parents would enjoy subscribing to a feed of toons from their kids.

If you give it a try and create comics as comments on this review (or anything), post the URL here so we can all go read them and laugh.