Why, you may ask are we still doing this? Because Nosheen bought a BlackBerry and that was reason enough for us to indulge in some cool GIF imagery.

Note- Let your eyes linger on this for more than a minute or two, and you will notice cheeky head shakes, some rather curious actions and most importantly smiles on all the faces

From Left to Right – Thesis(in the making) and Mandy

For about a span of 5 Days, co-workers passed by looking at Mandy as if he was painting the wall with ambiguous figures. From the first day, to the next day and the next the excitement kept building up, until their came a day, when we saw her, in full form.

And now, it is hard to pass by without a glance. In fact we know of some who come to hall under the garb of getting some coffee or playing pool, but what they really want to do is take a glance at her, in the hope that she may open her beautiful eyes and say those magical words-

Yep, the beauty of Thesis doesn’t lie in her voluptuous hair, or her eyes, or the way she seems to be gliding farther and farther away from you, but in her maker, her creator-

Thank you Mandy:)

Thesis (Greek θέσις Thesis) is a Primordial Goddess of Creation.

What makes web user experience?

Functionality:
If we compare an online store to a physical store, functionality of the store would mean how does your customer locate, choose, pick and purchase what they need (out of your products range). If it is easy for them to shop on your store/ online store, then your store gets full marks on functionality and it rates high in user experience. Functionality includes, usability, interaction channel, payment convenience, site speed, site accessibility.

Psychology:
In a situation where there are many more stores selling the same products on the same price and same quality, there comes one more area which can be taken advantage of, or we can say that virtual stores has one more area to prove itself, it is called genuineness. If your website interacts with the psyche of your customers and instills trusts, you are a winner. Positive psychological influences can be accomplished by achieving data security, shipping policies and return policies.

Content:
When we speak of content, we speak of the aesthetic and visual side of website. The design, feel and the semblance of your website, helps create a good user experience. Design is a part of user experience but not the only thing that matters. Content includes design, style, communication and various methods of marketing. So make sure that you’re putting enough thought into it.

Web user experience is a combination of all the above mentioned factors and goes beyond the traditional marketing mix. All these factors are handled/ managed by designers and developers. And that’s why we say it is these warriors that fight the battle of user attention for the companies operating online.

If you’re ready to sweat it out with the big guns of eCommerce web development then CueBlocks (a Magento Solutions Partner Company) will be more than happy to see the fire in your belly.

One more thing: Not made Magento your top game yet? Don’t worry impress us with your PHP & Zend Framework know-how and we’ll train you in Magento.

Also, Opportunity rarely knocks again; so if you’re listening then act now by:

Sending your Resumes/ CVs at careers@CueBlocks.com

Content strategy means jotting down everything about what your copy is, can or will be – before you start creating it. A well documented content strategy works like a shiny but very useful add on to your project reports/ propositions that your clients eagerly await every month.

Having said that, content strategy is more about sharpening your craft as a wirter than adding some bling to a client proposition. With a content strategy in mind, it is hard for anyone to lead astray into irrelevance while creating content for various web pages.

The key elements of any content strategy are:

• Objective
• Design
• Measurement
• Time-lines, creation
• Optimization, proof-reading and
• Presentation

Also, creating a content strategy involves answering three relevant questions:

• Why to write?
• What to write? &
• Who to write it for?

When strategizing content creation for any website, particularly, eCommerce stores, keep the following in mind:

Usability
You write content to enhance the usability of the website. This includes directions, instructions, guidelines and even 404 error pages. Remember those buttons saying ‘Click here to read more’ or a ‘quick four step guide’. Explain how to place your order, or what can a user do if not buy immediately. These will enhance the usability of your website manifold.

Communication
Each word on your website represents you (the brand). Unless you are operating in a monopoly, you very much need to devise a message that your content should carry. Bringing forward the values that you as a business adhere to or offer, is and can be communicated through content.

Search Engines
Your content can make your website search-engine friendly. All the web pages that rank top for certain keywords should be optimized for that keyword. Placing the keywords repeatedly in your content, makes your web pages optimized for search engines which further lends visibility to your website.

Content refers to everything that conveys meaning. Build your content strategy with usability, communication and search engines as key elements and see your website where you want it to be – ranking top, right?

Editing doesn’t get the credit it deserves and many writers seem to share a love-hate relationship with their editors. Well it’s human nature to crib when you’re downgraded or criticized mercilessly by others. Love it or hate it, editing is vital and writers can’t do without it. So the best thing would be to light your own fire and get those glasses on to separate the grain from the chaff, as they say.

In other words, edit your work yourself!

How to proceed with editing?

Grammar – No matter how many goals a goalkeeper saves, people will always remember the ones he missed. There is no room for grammar mistakes for a writer. Go through your copy at least once to remove all the errors before you make it live.

Spell Check - It is important to do a spell-check to correct the typos and wrong spellings which your machine may have missed.

Sharpen the idea - When editing, shorten the sentences and clear the dust around the main idea. Remember writers are allowed to sway but not editors, therefore stick to the point.

Simplify words – Unless it’s about  how to propel a rocket into orbit that you’re writing on, use words and sentences that readers can understand.

Structuring - Give a structure to your writing. Structure is important. When editing, divide your copy into relevant paragraphs and give spaces. This makes your copy look better.

Formating – Have you italicized the important words and separated all the clauses with comas? While editing insert punctuations, bullets, bold and italicized words, wherever necessary.

No one will ever complain when you have made something more readable and easier to understand.

Let us know what is your editing mantra or how you slice and dice your copy to get that perfect piece out there to be enjoyed. If you don’t have one then try this and share your experience.

Happy Editing!

We are expanding and are looking for some really talented people to join our growing team!

Here is a list of 9 immediate openings we have at CueBlocks. Interested candidates can send their C.V. along with a cover letter to careers@cueblocks.com

Current Job Openings:

a. PHP Developers: 5 positions
This position is open for passionate coders and PHP Gurus with prior experience in Magento / Zend Framework.
Experience range: 2 year to 5 years.

b. Network Administrator: 1 position
Experience: Minimum 1 year

c. Linux Web Server Administrator: 1 position
Experience: Minimum 2 years

d. SEO Analyst: 1 position
Experience: Minimum 2 years

e. Web Designer: 1 position
Experience: Minimum 2 years

If any of these openings match with your passion, interest or aspiration, get in touch with us, we might just need you. Send across your updated C.V. and cover letter to careers@cueblocks.com

Know more about us. Follow the link to have a look at life at CueBlocks http://bit.ly/dUStLc

But how and why does this happen? Simply because people don’t bother to stop and check the meaning or the usage! Do you?  Well, see the list below and figure yourself what line do you lead/ tail.

We’re taking up only three words as of now and will continue to add to the list just as we counter more of them grim users.

Incredible – It means not credible, hard to believe, unbelievable, so extraordinary as to seem impossible. Incredible is used at all the wrong places, most of the times in complimentary places. People use incredible to express someone’s/ some thing’s beauty or how amazing it is. That is incredibly wrong . Delete the word as a complimentary adjective from your minds completely. Incredible can be used to commend speed, time, energy etc. and may be beauty if one happens to come across Helen of Troy or may be your girlfriend.

Irregardless – This is not a word. ‘Irregardless’ is incorrect, period! All that the extra prefix ‘Ir’ does in this word is negate the suffix ‘Less’ and brings you back to where you started from – ‘Regard’ – as far as meaning is concerned.

Bemused –  What it means – lost/ confused or pre-occupied. It is often understood as amusing or something that makes you laugh. Not the same thing right? So using them interchangeably isn’t what you should be doing!

Apart from these, there are many other that completely butcher the sense of a phrase/ sentence if not used more carefully. We’ll be putting them up here soon, so keep coming back for more to save yourself from that crushing moment of embarrassment!

Until then, be very cautious of such stubborn trolls, I mean words.

Intensifiers (or fluff words, as they are more affectionately called) as the name suggests are words do not add any meaning to the sentence but are used to express the urgency and intensity of the words that follow them. Words like very, too, kind of, really, absolutely, actually, basically, intensify the adjectives that follow them. When you rely on an intensifier far too much then it’s time to go back to the comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives.

very light can be written as lighter
really very cheap can be written as cheapest
more fast can be written as faster
absolutely green can be written as greenest

Intensifiers are not really required. These when overused take away expression and sincerity in a sentence. For instance: “I really liked his work“. Here the intensifier ‘really’, works like a justification. The author is trying to convince you of his own feelings, hinting that he is not too sure.

Absolutely –  This one has conveniently replaced ‘yes’ for an affirmation.
John: Are you coming for the party tonight?
Marry: Absolutely
Here even without Mary’s mention of an ‘absolutely yes’ or ‘absolutely no’ we assume that she is saying yes.

Basically - Basically is a filler and not such a good one too! In fact the most common and empty one. All it tells you is that the writer is struggling with words. Not a good impression to leave on your readers.

Intensifiers are perceived as warnings by the readers. They give out signals that the follow up word is not adequate. For example – “This flower is so so nice”. In this phrase the writer implies that he means something more than nice but has no clue about the precise word.

Fluff words have a meaning of their own but if over-used can leave a copy with verbal diarrhea.

Your copies would absolutely mean the same (not to mention will sound much better) even if you remove the fuff from them. Seriously, try it. It works.

Let’s see what are the ones that really take the lid off for many word fanatics around the world:

Starting with Loose/ Lose

Loosen your seat belt & lose your life! Next time the dilemma of putting a double ‘o’ appears, just remember, our advice.

There are more:
Words like ‘aisle’ and ‘isle’, ‘all together’ and altogether’, ‘appraise and apprise’, ‘currant’ and ‘current’, ‘tortuous’ and ‘torturous’ etc. are the ones that have been making people open up dictionaries on their devices! These words not only confuse but their wrong usage can change the sense of a sentence completely.

If you are a copywriter, you better save yourself from these words! A blog post that you’ve written staying awake night and day, baffling your mind over the ‘right’ words would all go to waste with that single inapt word. And trust me, if you are a beginner it will happen a lot of times.

To save yourself from the embarrassment, get back to the words that put you in a doubt while creating a post or article. Double check if you are not sure. Give a random reading to ‘words with same pronunciation but different meaning’ in your free time. Just like right now.

Because if they can’t censor your article with wrong words, they will definitely censure it!

Some more words are ‘wreath and wreathe’, ‘storey and story’, ‘sceptic and septic’,  ‘pour and pore’, ‘pedal and peddle’ etc. These are simple but are among the most commonly mixed up words in speech and write-ups.

There are other such irrcorrigble words that tease and test the mettle of a Linguist: Find them at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/266 and get ready to rule with words.

Effective writing commands push. This means that every word on your blog is pushing the reader to the next one. But a good headline pushes the reader to the blog post itself. Want to know how can you make your headline pushy enough? Read on.

What works:

1. Meet a need

Titles that answer a need, work really well. A great percentage of readers look for information online and only a minority is looking for abstract write-ups. Therefore to answer a need in the title itself will win you readers for your blog.

Learn Ten Cool Ways to Impress Someone

2. Ask a question

A question can tickle a reader’s mind. A blog with a question as a title compels readers to think for an answer or to find out one. Such blog titles also generate more comments and replies.

How Far Can Humanity Go for Money?

3. Use words like ‘You’ and ‘Your’

Blog titles with ‘you’ and ‘your’ are personalized titles. These titles when backed by personal writing, creates a very strong impact on the readers. Using words like ‘you’ and ‘your’ brings readers closer to your words.

Five ways to make your communication skills kick ass

4. Keywords

Keywords are important because they attract relevant readers to your post. For a reader looking for something specific, having keywords in the title can be a direct hit. Keywords elongate the life of your post in search engines too.

Gift Spa Products for the Best Felt Valentine’s

5. Generate response

Another way to generate response is to use powerful words like ‘free’, ‘easy’, ‘secret’, etc. These words play on the curiosity in the readers mind. For example ‘free’ gives an idea that you don’t have to shell out anything from your pocket, which is quite a reason for someone to read your blog.

Find Out Easy Ways to Lose Weight

All the above mentioned techniques can’t be used all at once. Our advice – spare a few extra moments on writing headline. Come up with a title that sums up your blog beautifully. And don’t forget the rule of thumb – keep it simple, straight and rocking!

CB 11

CueBlocks took the time off and went on one high-octane Rafting trip that’s not going to get out of minds for a long time! The place was Rishikesh, Uttarakhand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishikesh), the city of temples and the Ganga. Our objective – pure fun and living off adrenalin for two days!

On Familiar Waters

We arrived at Rishikesh on Saturday morning driving all Friday night. Our adventure schedule included 29 Km of Rafting, Rappelling and Rock climbing. There was also a surprise deal which literally meant taking the step off the edge – Cliff Jumping. The stage was already set and what was needed were strong players. We had already warded off the exhaustion from the previous night and were full on in for the adventure.

Rafting was first on the list and we took about 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the terrain which was not without some mean deals called ‘Rapids’ the meaning of which is better experienced than explained. Rapids are waves in the river that show no mercy and mock the attempts of poor mortals crunched together on a deflatable raft. They are classified into different grades based on their insanity and power. The Rapids that we met were grade 3 (the highest is 5). Which is something for the rookies!

After going through so many rapids, the still water was just a breeze! But what really jolted the heart was Cliff Jumping. Some of us tried it and enjoyed the free fall of our lives into the water from 10 feet above! In one word – insane! We reached back at the camp, hungry, drop dead tired but content with the display of courage and comedy.

Lost in Anticipation

Later when food found way to our stomachs we tried our hands at Volley Ball and played till the last ounce of energy was sapped out. The games started as friendly and fun but soon the competition was on and trash talk filled in where the skill lacked. In the volley of mocking exchanges, spikes and slams emerged as winners and the players soon retired to their dwellings to ward off some tiredness before the bon-fire at night.

The super-active day ended on quite a contrary but inevitable note with dinner around the simmering fire, as life experiences were shared and jokes splattered about. The riverside, the reach-and-touch silver stars and the company of friends was all too perfect but was cut down by weariness of the day.

The next day we had rappelling and rock climbing. It wasn’t much of an ordeal but had its own fun and fancy.  And soon after the breakfast, the Volley ball was again seen picked and pounded across the net, while the sweet chin music played in the background.

CueTeam

What followed was some more splashing about in the water, packing and gearing up for the journey back home. The trip was coming to end but something else was brimming – a stock of great stories to share and enjoy plus a lifetime of experience to cherish. Not to forget the pain and bruises to mark our adventure.

P.S – Our photographers have done a brilliant job in capturing our stay at Rishikesh. The shots will help a lot where words have failed

You can view more shots at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83453913@N00/sets/72157626396789866/

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150148782891889&id=24165941888&aid=273681

P.P.S – The people who lost their way while coming back were privileged to some extra-adventure. Not sure, if they’d be up to sharing it. But they did mention ‘getting lost is not a waste of time’ 

From adding an incredibly fabulous new office to its infrastructure (check it out at: http://www.cueblocks.com/blog/2010/cueblocks-new-block-celebrations/) to the very recently launched Android app – ‘GeoChirp for Android’ – CueBlocks really hit it big this year.

Accreditation followed too as CueBlocks became a Magento Community Partner and renewed the coveted Google Adwords Partner Company Certification (great job guys!).

The team worked on some super development and marketing projects in 2010, and added several very exciting clients to our roster.

Other things of importance – Release of the CueBlocks culture book, the much-loved CueBlocks Goodies which include super cool CueBlocks hoodies and sweat shirts, pin-up badges, stickers and ids (http://www.cueblocks.com/blog/2010/cueblocks-ids-stickers/)! We’ve been really up to a lot.

As we wowed each other with greatness in work, at gaming skills and otherwise, the year seemed to have zipped past us. Leaving behind excitement for 2011 and bigger better dreams to realize.

We are marking the year end with a deserved Christmas bash followed by a week long break from December 25th to January 2nd, only to come back and splash some more awesomeness in 2011.

So get ready to play ‘Catch-up’

A very Merry Christmas and hope you all rock the New Year too

After a long follow up and interview I was  given a chance to be a part of a very hard working team- CUETEAM. Since the first day, blocks of my learning kept on shaping and building to their best in terms of team culture, technologies, new lessons, developments, work culture, etc. Cueblocks provided  me with a healthy learning environment to build me up as a good human being and taught me healthy professionalism, The Cue Values which I inculcated from the CUETEAM changed my vision towards life.

I am grateful to my mentors for giving me fruitful learning and the entire team for teaching me big and small aspects of work and life. Values of Cueblocks and Cubies influenced my life professionally as well as personally. I am thankful for the love and affection I’ve received from everyone in Cueblocks and would always remember the lessons that I’ve learnt here professionally and personally as well. Such experiences of life help you grow as a person and are a great building block of life. The amazing time I spent in Cueblocks flew like few weeks. I realized your boss can be your friend, mentor, and fun to be with. I learnt to set priorities between work and play and most importantly learning comes from both work and play hours in office and both are very essential.

A heartfelt thanks to all
I remember my favorite poem by Robert Frost- Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and I realized that Cueblocks added an inspiring milestone in my journey that today I feel confident about myself that I can stand strongly and say “yes I am prepared”.
I am glad to be a part of the family.
I wish cueblocks  greater heights of success and achievements and my head bow in respect for the Cue Vision and Values.

I miss Cueblocks and cherish time spent with the team.

P.S.- I miss playing Ricochet Robots . . . . . 

- Geetanjali