I was so unsure about everything, so unconfident and nervous about going India and, most of all, starting to work (it was my first experience of working as a designer). My duties seemed so vague to me, I knew nothing about web design.

Almost 3 months have gone since then. As Pancham said on my first day, 3 months felt like 3 weeks. And he was so right! I always think, that everything is just starting, but it’s not. It started with birth and  it will slip away, if I don’t seize the moment.. It’s one of the things, that I became more assured about this summer.

What astonished me about Cue Blocks team was professionalism. I heard interns from other companies complaining about “Indian stretchable time”, but in Cue Blocks tomorrow means tomorrow:) Everyone was extremely friendly. I really appreciate, that people wanted us (me and Melih) to feel comfortable and spoke English, when we were around (especially for the first month:))

I’m very grateful to Pancham, Avneet and Sarthak for giving me this chance, for guiding me through, for creating such a nice atmosphere. I’ve never seen people, who distinguish “being friendly” and “being professional” so clearly (I mean it’s not a surprise, because I’ve never worked in an office before. But I’m glad, that my first bosses showed me this attitude).

As always, passing a milestone, I think, that I could have done more, learned more. But now, looking back, I feel enriched. The blocks of information and experience are filling up the gaps in my  head. One by one they are falling down. Cue Blocks made me more magnetic for particular sort of  these blocks. I’m hungry for new knowledge, charged for this school year. Now I see better than ever, that school can’t give me as much I as need. This internship clarified my further path.

Elisha, my TN manager promised “life changing experience”, and Cue Blocks kept the promise.

Kate

• Web Developers: PHP/ MySQL, Magento, Ruby on Rails,  OsCommerce (Open Positions – 4)
• Iphone/ Android Developers (Open Positions – 2)
• Copywriters (Open Positions – 2)
• Social Media Marketers (Open Positions – 2)
• PPC & Analytics (Open Positions – 2)

For more information about the latest career job openings, visit http://www.cueblocks.com/careers.php

If you are interested to be part of CueBlocks and have a passion for any of the above areas, please send your latest CV and Motivation/Cover letter to careers@cueblocks.com

Please make sure that the email accompanying the CV and cover letter should clearly highlight which position you are interested in applying.

“Though much of our testing is already happening offline, this month we’ll also test the delivery of organic and paid search results provided by Microsoft on live Yahoo! traffic.”

So users will soon be able to see Bing powered results on Yahoo Search! The transition is expected to happen anytime over the next couple of days or may be months. The powered results are expected to influence competition among search engines vying to provide users with precise, relevant and accurate results. Is Google listening or can continue to enjoy the biggest slice of the search pie (read users). Hmmm.. this only time will tell.

Yahoo holds a large chunk of advertisers – undoubtedly a win-win situation for the Bing-Yahoo transition! Wherein Microsoft will be taking charge of algorithmic search serving platform & search advertising marketplace for both the companies. The search alliance covers algo search (web, image and video), search advertising and contextual advertising. None of the aspects of display advertising, vertical searches or site searches, such as queries on Flickr or Yahoo! News will be included in this alliance reports Yahoo Transition FAQ’s

Visit http://www.clickz.com/3640998 for more about the yahoo-Bing transition buzz or check out http://advertising.yahoo.com/transition/en_US/managed_faqs if the buzz has sparked questions in your mind!

Now we all know what the 5th Anniversary means for any company that was started by young individuals with mind full of youthful aspirations, ideas (some productive others just fancy) and well not much tangible sources to bank on! Well, take Cue Blocks’ word for it…it feels great – pure, flawless greatness!!

What made it possible? We have shortlisted the 5 most crucial things for any company to make the 5th Anniversary celebration possible! To make it to ten or twenty years, just keep in touch because we’ll let the secrets out as and when we cross the bridge.

So the most crucial things are –

Internet – Nah.. but seriously being an Internet Marketing, Web design, development and Social Media Marketing firm; we just can’t go further without giving a peep of a mention to the Internet .

Money – Who can ever start up a venture empty handed?

You think so too? Well not us, since we’ve been there and done that; we know better now and

The ‘Real’ things are:

A Great Team – We’re really thankful to have built up a team of talented, passionate and awesome individuals who make Cue Blocks’ ventures successful. The Cue Team got together and worked up on a wonderful Cue Culture Book. It will soon be up on the website for everyone to admire and get a slice of Cue Culture .

Clients – The amazing people who give us unquestionably the most important thing – ‘work’! It has been a great experience working with/ for such brilliant minds around the globe.

Family & Friends – The name Cue Blocks was thought of by one of the director’s Mom! So Cue Blocks would probably not be Cue Blocks if it wasn’t for the support and constant encouragement of family and friends alike.

Great Clarity in Vision – Now this is something that many companies lose out on somewhere in the middle and end up shutting down before even leaving a mark. As a company it’s important to have a vision and share it with everyone associated with the organization.

The Past, Present & Future – Time and its lessons are your best teacher. Never forget where you came from, where you are and where do you want to go/ be. Cue Blocks knows that very well and is constantly evaluating/ re-evaluating our efforts, their results and our dreams.

All in all the journey has been fantastic and we have learned, grown and held on to our dreams. So now when we say ‘If it’s online we go the distance with you’ – it comes from no overriding ambition but 5 years of being Cue Blocks!

Cue Blocks Technologies (http://www.CueBlocks.com) a Web Technology, Design, Search and Social Media Marketing firm recently announced its special offer on Magento based eCommerce store development and customization program for 2010.

While making the announcement, Pancham Prashar, President Sales & Marketing of CueBlocks said, “Magento is a very robust and popular eCommerce platform. While we offer eCommerce solutions based on the other platforms as well, we actively recommend Magento to our clients for  its flexibility, features, scalability and our excellent experience with it.”

CueBlocks offers its Online Marketing and Web Development services to a global audience. CueBlocks’ clients are based in USA, UK and Ireland and include some of the fastest growing online retail stores.

“Starting March 2010, we have a special offer for Magento development & customization. Whether you have the requirement of a ‘new eCommerce store’ or are wanting to port from an existing shopping cart to Magento, we invite you to explore the services offered by CueBlocks. Our team has solid experience in Magento Customization, Design & Usability and subsequent Online Marketing of the eCommerce stores”, Pancham further added.

More details of Magento can be seen at – http://www.magentocommerce.com

Avneet Sethi, President Products and Services of CueBlocks said, “We have worked on Magento based eCommerce stores and the experience of our clients has been very encouraging. We are also launching several Magento based stores of some of our clients in the coming months. The ease of usage of Magento, availability of features, ease of customization and scalability makes it a very popular and wise choice for any eCommerce store, irrespective of their size.”

Talking about CueBlocks’ eCommerce Marketing services, Avneet said “We not only offer eCommerce store development using Magento and other platforms, but we also provide extensive eCommerce online marketing services at CueBlocks. This allows us to offer end to end eCommerce solutions to our clients.”

CueBlocks is a Google Adwords Qualified Company and also offers focused Online Marketing services like Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click management, Link Building, Online Reputation Management, eCommerce store marketing, Social Media Marketing, Corporate Blogging, Copywriting etc.

More information about CueBlocks can be seen at – http://www.CueBlocks.com

About CueBlocks Technologies:
CueBlocks Technologies is an Web Development and Online Marketing firm – specializing in Web Design/Development, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Formed in 2005, the company offers it’s services to a global audience and has a team of over 30 design, programming and Internet Marketing specialists.

Contact Information:
Pancham Prashar
Cue Blocks Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
SCO 822, 2nd Floor,
NAC ManiMajra
Chandigarh – 160101
India
US Toll Free – 1-323–786–0190
Email: sales@cueblocks.com
Site: http://www.CueBlocks.com
Blog: http://www.CueBlocks.com/blog
http://www.cueblocks.com/enquiry.php

http://www.GeoChirp.com
http://twitter.com/cueblocks
http://www.facebook.com/cueblocks.technologies
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The holiday fever is full on everywhere; the church bells ringing in the Christmas cheer, the winter chill beckoning cozy moments with family and friends and not to forget a spirited welcome awaiting the new year, 2010! With all that joy and jazz around, work can take a back seat and everyone can don the party hat or doff it (after endless partying).

The holidays off at Cue Blocks means ten days of fun, fun and more fun. From travels to spending time at home and even soul searching; most of us have the holidays planned out. Whatever it is, holidays also mean coming back to Cue Blocks in the new year with a renewed sense of purpose determination and more whacky ideas to give shape to in the new year!

So here’s wishing everyone a very happy and wonderful holidays from Cue Blocks! Party, dream or desire, make the new year the best one so far but not better than the ones to come.

Wait until the January 4th 2010 to see Cue Blocks in Action, yet again!

Since October, I have learned about Internet marketing, web design, and most importantly; good copywriting! Cue Blocks is a great company, and not just by Indian standards. The level of commitment and professionalism is excellent, and there is a true team bond, something that is harder to find with a big company.

The office is clean, tidy, and even has a dart board, PlayStation, DVD player, Nintendo Wii, and even an exercise ball for relaxing. There is a friendly atmosphere, and everyday for lunch the whole company eats a vegetarian meal together, specially made by the Cue Blocks chef!

The management team, Pancham, Sarthak and Avneet are friendly, understanding, and are happy to take care of any issues, driving the company forward with vision and passion. Together they have created a memorable working environment, which I am sad to leave.

In the short space I have been with Cue Blocks, I have learnt a great deal from the company, and will not forget my Cue Blocks family! If you are considering an internship, career change or break, or simply want to travel while working, then Cue Blocks could be a perfect idea!

If you are a student, then AIESEC (www.aiesec.org) is something you should know about, and Cue Blocks are always looking for new and talented people to join the team, so if you aren’t a student but interested, then check out www.cueblocks.com

Not only did I get to live and travel in India, but I got to work for a growing company, taking on real responsibility.

I’d like to thank the Cue Blocks team for making my time here so good, and wish the company good luck for the future!

Jonny, from England

Long-tail keywords are more specific, catering to definitive searches, as opposed to generic keywords. For example, if you are looking for a track, it’s like mentioning the exact track lyrics rather than browsing the whole oeuvre of an artist by mentioning his name.

Starting with a new business and relying on high-search volume keywords is a risk proposition as reaching a rank amongst top-notch competitors is not an easy task.(Find out more on this here: http://www.seobook.com/why-it-makes-sense-target-longtail-keywords-first). It’s like getting lost in the traffic where zillions are already endeavoring to maintain their hard-earned positions.

Long Tailed Keywords – Far from the Generic Crowd

Long-tail keywords, although get you minimum traffic but certainly assure you a ranking. As mentioned by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief, Wired magazine, “If the 20th- century entertainment industry was about hits, the 21st will be equally about misses”.

The long-tail keyword Internet marketing strategy is all about those missed misses which aren’t tapped by the established high-ranking websites. Long-tails drive the traffic seeking a definitive search (Read: http://www.searchengineguide.com/matt-bailey/keyword-strategies-the-long-tail.php).

As Internet specifically denotes abundance, long-tail keywords denote the scarcity that can be maneuvered toward conversions. This is just in accordance with the 80-20 rule (The Pareto Principle, the law of the vital few) which states that, “for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes”.

Conclusively, you climb the ladder with misses and chart the success route with less sought-after keywords but definitive conversions.

It is a tool that enables you to find users twittering for specific things in a particular area, within a radius of 50 miles! Visit http://www.geochirp.com/ to access the Twitter Tool.

GeoChirp has been designed to enable users to connect with people who have similar interests from a particular area. Just type in the location and the area of interest that you want to search for. Within seconds you will have all the Twitter users in the defined radius with their tweets before you. You can also choose the number of tweets displayed on a page by regulating the number of tweets option.

- GeoChirp – Twitter birds flock together!

And GeoChirp makes sure that they do! With this tool, you can now find people with like interests and dispositions within your chosen range of area. You can log in to GeoChirp using your Twitter account and reply to people, follow them and retweet an update. With an Autorefresh feature, it also displays new tweets added frequently!

By default, GeoChirp takes up your existing location and shows Twitter users in the region.

Twitter has become one of the leading Social Media Networking sites, with GeoChirp you can get a database of tweets about specific things in a particular geographic region.

Google Map is also available with a search box at the bottom where users can type in the location and start networking with people in the chosen location. Social Networking is usually centered on interest based interaction among users, however, this Twitter and Google Maps Mash up is an attempt to shift the focus on location based networking.

Find who’s tweeting about what in your neighborhood, block or city with GeoChirp!

- Following are some of the reviews about GeoChirp:

• http://mashable.com/2009/07/24/geochirp/
• http://www.appscout.com/2009/07/geochirp_find_tweets_in_your_n.php
• http://peercasters.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/4/
• http://www.bloggingtips.com/2009/07/29/market-your-tweets-locally-with-geochirp/
• http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/geochirp-com-find-people-twittering-anywhere

We hope you all enjoy GeoChirping!

After the exciting excursion last year at Sadhupul and an enthusiastic account given by Sarthak of Paint Ball, we finally decided to test our mettle in a Paint Ball battle at Xtreme Warzone, located 5 Kms from PGI in village Syoonk. Now, Paint Ball sounds like some innocent color splashing fun doesn’t it? Well, it’s not!  Contrary to its name,  Paint Ball is a different ball game altogether with guns, paint bullets and all. It is a full on battle for pride, honor and bragging rights and we found that out as soon as we arrived there.

The way to the venue was a bit confusing and the roads were really narrow but Avneet’s superb  sense of direction and driving finally got us there. The moment we saw our battlefield, we knew that the evening was going to be rough, tough and gory (and gory does not mean paint at all!) They even made us sign a lease of no responsibility! Ouch!

Police Team - All Ready to Rumble!

We divided ourselves among teams and chose the overalls accordingly. Now the overalls available were in two different styles one was the Army Camouflage and the other was the Beige Police Wear (which by the way perfectly camouflages with dirt). Sarthak chose the Army overall (as expected) and his team members were Pancham Sir, Aseem, Ashwini, Gulshan and Vikal. David (he is back!), opting for the Police overall had Avneet , Nishant, Rohit, Yashpal and Nosheen in his team. Another thing; many girls didn’t turn up and it was rather a jolt on the feminist ego but don’t worry, those who were there didn’t let any one down

So the battle was on between the Army and the Cops and it wasn’t a one sided combat as many of you may be tempted to think! The Police fought with enough resilience but was not strong enough (or may be lucky enough) to outdo the experience and wits of Sarthak, who lead the charge quite naturally in all the three games we played!

The burly instructor introduced us to the game and explained all the safety rules. He warned us, in his thundering voice, of the dangers inside the battlefield and repeatedly told us not to remove our masks once inside the battleground (which thankfully, no one did as the paint balls hit really hard due to their high velocity and the force with which they are fired).

Not being able to wait any longer, the respective teams stormed the arena which cannot be mentioned without a detailed description! It was a real battleground with bunkers, trenches, barrels, stacks of sacks, etc. The arena ignited the feisty fires in all of us and we were soon fighting with everything we had!

There was no dearth of misdirected shots but some got their aims well and the first game was won by the Police! However, soon the sweat, heat and bad light blinded our passions (quite literally) and many people caved out within  minutes. However, the next two games of Capture the Flag demanded sharp pugilist skills and every one was up for it with equal zest!

The first of the two games ended with Sarthak capturing the flag and reaching at the Police end without much resistance, even when David was shooting from a few yards away! (Better luck next time). In the second battle of Capture the Flag, Nishant and Rohit, heroically jumped in the same trench as Sarthak, one after the other, but like Don Quixote couldn’t really taste the sweet success of victory.

Sarthak then passed the Flag to Aseem who with the stride of a noble knight ran with all his might and also I think for his life to reach to the Police end. The volley of bullets fired at him, (from long distance) did nothing to deter his devotion and dedication for his team! Good work Aseem!

This way the Army won and Sarthak had a bruise on his right bicep to show off his bravery! Apart from that nobody else got hurt. The Police team was not really down and out as what really scored was unlimited fun and loads of excitement

After the rugged encounter, we headed off to Barbecue Nation, sector 26, where the battlefield rivalry turned into camaraderie and back-slapping exchanges. It however, did not prevent Sarthak from boasting off his war antics!

We reached the place with sweat and dirt all over and went straight into the restrooms to make ourselves more presentable and clean! We washed the dirt off but not the essence of being in a close-to-reality battleground and swaggered back to our table quite proudly

The evening from thereon was spent in laughs, funny exchanges and a hilarious recall of the battle that had just ensued at the Paint Ball venue.

The dinner at Barbecue is always delicious but the company and the occasion made it all the more special with all of us happy to be celebrating once again what got all of us together in the first place…CueBlocks!

One thing we missed out on was photography. Actually we were too busy Capturing the Flag that capturing moments was not really on our minds. Anyhow the knockout memories will remain etched in our minds for a long time and Sarthak’s bruise will be a perfect souvenir  until it heals

With CueBlocks becoming more daring every year, we might just plan a Rock Climbing venture for the Fifth year! What say?

The error I’m talking about is the mixing up of you’re and your. Are you one of the many confused? Don’t worry, you’re reading this and your confusions will be cleared! Let’s look at these tricky words individually:

You’re is a contraction, i.e., a combination, of ‘you are’. It is often followed by the present participle, a verb form ending in ‘-ing’.

Some examples:

You’re a nice person.
I think you’re lying.
I can’t believe you’re here!

Your, on the other hand, is the possessive form of you. It is used to describe something as belonging to you. Your is almost always followed by a noun.

Some examples:

Is this your pen?
Your book is on the table.
Your hand looks a little bruised!

Important Tip:

When confused, try replacing you’re with ‘you are’ in the sentence. If it fits, you’re good! Otherwise, ‘your’ is the word you’re looking for!

Very Important Note:

There is absolutely no such word as your’e!!

Want to add something? Have any inputs? Please feel free to leave a comment or contact us. I say it again, we grammar snobs love to argue .

For instance, one such universally repeated error is the usage of the expression, ‘free gift’.
Needless to say, a gift is meant to be deprived of any charges. Of course, it comes free of cost! What is the point of presenting someone with a gift that has to be paid for?

Remember, the word ‘gift’ itself implies that it is being given without extracting any compensatory charge. It is always better to replace the expression, ‘free gift’ with ‘free’ or ‘gift’ only depending upon its usage and connotation.

Than vs. Then

This is an oft-repeated error that is bound to make your head go spinning with its cyclic redundancy. Though if committed to memory once, it can be easily avoided in future.

‘Than’ refers to a ‘comparison’.

Examples: Your dress is better than mine.
She scores better than him.

‘Then’ always refers to ‘time’.

Examples: If you fail, then be ready to bear the consequences.
If the situation gets out of control, then give me a call.

Their vs. There

‘Their’ refers to possession.

Examples: This is their house.
These are their children.

‘There’ refers to ‘place’.

Examples: There is your new school.
The book is lying there.

Weather vs. Whether

‘Weather’ refers to ‘the state of the atmosphere’.

Examples: The weather seems pleasant today.
The harsh weather ruined the picnic.

‘Whether’ implies a ‘condition’.

Examples: Find out whether she is coming or not.
Be sure whether you will be able to do it or not.

We hope that these tips would come in handy in times of confusions and complexities. Feel free to comment if you want to add some from your end. We would definitely love it!

You are also more than welcome to contact us if you want to share any thoughts!

But is making a profile on LinkedIn enough? Or Will making a business page on Facebook or MySpace solve the purpose?

The answer is a big NO! Because making a profile alone will not help, you have to jump into all the action and make some serious communication efforts. You have to be as active on your business profile as you would be on your own profile.

The perks of Social Media Marketing:

Social Media Marketing offers numerous benefits which provide the much deserved limelight to your online business. Let’s look at some of these perks:

1. Social Media Marketing can get huge amounts of free traffic to your website, which in turn results in increased visibility.

2. Through various social networking profiles, you can build a considerable fan base for your online products and services.

3. Most of the social networking websites like FaceBook, LinkedIn and MySpace offer the option of creating free accounts. Thus, using these websites generally proves to be very beneficial in terms of COST and BUDGET.

4. As you are communicating directly with people who share interests similar to your services/products, you can directly target a specific group of people who might be interested in what you have to offer.

5. Social Media Marketing helps in increasing the popularity of your website through various backlinks which leads to better search engine visibility.
6. As a result of User Generated Sites and Book Marking Sites, people can find your business online more easily than ever.

The most important factor in Social Media Marketing is to keep in touch with your user base and try to be as transparent as you can. Aside from Blogs, Video-Promotions and Photo-Sharing, start delving into micro-blogging services like Twitter & Plurk so that you are able to reach mobile users as well.

And last, but definitely not the least, BE PATIENT!

Have any queries, comments, suggestion or want your site to grow with Social Media Marketing? Contact us today!

We come across websites with both www and non www versions of its URLS.

• www.yourwebsite.com
• yourwebsite.com/
• www.yourwebsite.com/index.html
• yourwebsite.com/home.asp

Most people would consider these the same URL but technically, all of these are different.  Matt, in his post on SEO advice: URL canonicalization, explains that a web server could return completely different content for all the URLs listed above.

If you have duplicate content on multiple webpages of your site, this can cause problems for search engines – specifically in determining which URL should be shown in the  search results. Canonical URL comes to rescue in such a scenario:

•    Canonicalization becomes helpful as it takes the duplicate pages and uses a 301 re-direct to point all versions to a single, “canonical” version of the content or web page.

•    Google recommends that you pick a “canonical URL”as the preferred version of the page. You can indicate your preference to Google in a number of ways. Google recommends them all (if you don’t indicate a canonical URL, Google will identify what it thinks is the best version).

What to do to make sure Google picks up the URL that you want it to pick:

•    You can choose a preferred URL and use it consistently across your entire site. For example, don’t make half of your links go to http://example.com/ and the other half go to http://www.example.com/. Instead, pick the URL you prefer and always use that format for your internal links. If your site has duplicate content on multiple pages, there is a high possibility this could affect your search engine ranking results. For example – the link information could get diluted in a case where few incoming links may point to one version of the URL and few links to another.

•    Matt further adds that if you want your default URL to be http://www.example.com/. You can make your webserver in a way so that if someone requests http://example.com/, it does a 301 (permanent) redirect to http://www.example.com/. Doing this will help Google know which URL you prefer to be canonical. If you have a site that changes often, for example you have dynamic content on site, a blog, etc. then adding a 301 redirect can be very useful.

Using the URL removal tool to remove domain.com –

If you remove one of the www vs. non-www hostnames, you can end up removing your whole domain for six months. You need to do a reinclusion request if URL removal tool removes your entire domain when you actually only wanted to remove the www or non-www version of your domain. A reinclusion request refers to mentioning that you removed your entire domain by accident using the URL removal tool and that you’d like it reincluded.

For more information on 301 re-directs see http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/seo-advice-URL-canonicalization/

American and British English differ greatly, even in terms of sentence structures and use of tense. What may be standard in British English might not be correct in American English.

Following are a few more differences which you should take note of.

Use of Present Perfect:

British English

I’ve lost my key. Can you look for it?

American:

I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

(Americans generally avoid using present perfect tense)

Use of Already, Just and Yet

British:

I’ve just had lunch
I’ve already seen that film
Have you finished your homework yet?

American:

I just had lunch
I already saw that film
Have you finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet?

Generally have and has are preferred in British English and do and does in American English. However, both are accepted in American and British English. For instance:

British – She has a beautiful home

American – She’s got a beautiful home

The verb get is also used as gotten in American English, for instance,

She has gotten used to the brutality inflicted upon her

Difference in Use of Prepositions

American

on the weekend
on a team
please write me soon
Monday through Friday
out the door
Figure Out
Children are at the School
Lay off

British

at the weekend
in a team
please write to me soon
Monday to Friday
out of the door
Work Out
Children are in the School
make redundant

There are different versions of idioms in American and British English

American

not touch something with a ten-foot pole
sweep under the rug
knock on wood
see the forest for the trees
a home away from home
blow (or toot ) one’s horn
a drop in the bucket
Tempest in a teapot
beating a dead horse
a new lease on life

British

not touch something with a bargepole
sweep under the carpet
touch wood
see the woods for the trees
a home from home
blow one’s trumpet
drop in the ocean
storm in a teacup
flogging a dead horse
a new lease of life

Knowing Americanisms is very useful, when creating a copy for American readers.

So remember that and will easily suffice, where additionally should have been and one will respectfully make for you.

Want to Know more or tell us something. Feel Free to contact us or leave a comment.