SMS to Google Plus

I’m going to begin working on an app that will forward SMS messages to Google+. I’m doing this so that I can update G+ from Twitter, by incorporating it with a recipe on IFTTT. (Trust me, it works. It took me a LONG time to devise a working way to do this, since IFTTT got rid of Twitter triggers and G+ doesn’t have an API yet.)

The app will look for a specific username, and specific hashtag(s) in texts received from IFTTT. If the text begins with “username: ” and includes the hashtag in the SMS somewhere, it will cut off the leading username and forward the SMS to Google+.

In order to do all of this, the way that I plan to use it, you will need an IFTTT account, and you will need SMS status updates turn on within Google+. To enable SMS status updates on Google+, you need a phone number from the US or India. If you are not in either of those countries, there are ways around it using Google Voice and a proxy within the US or India (Google search it if you are interested.)

This app has been inspired by a personal need for such functionality. Initially, I am going to be developing the app solely for my use. I need something to be working properly by the beginning of November, so the first version will ONLY work with my username and the specific hashtag that I need to be forwarded to Google+.

If people show interest in this app  (via comments or +1 on this blog entry, sending me e-mails, tweets, however you want to display interest) I will work on making a public version that is able to be personalized for your username and multiple personalized hashtag triggers. But step 1 is to get a working version for myself written and usable by Nov 1.

Let me know if you’re interested!