Writing a strong Cue
A Cue is one sentence in plain English: what you need Cuebit to watch for. The sharper that sentence, the sooner you hear about the right thing and the fewer misses you get. Here is exactly what makes a Cue strong.
Say what change to watch for
A Cue names the action or change you want Cuebit to catch, with enough about what it concerns that your meaning is clear. The change is the point, and what it concerns is a given that can be as broad or as narrow as you like. Add specifics only when they narrow things further. Specifics alone never make a Cue strong.
Fewest words, most information
Every word should earn its place: name the subject, name the action or change, and drop the rest (tell me about, anything interesting, let me know). One plain sentence in your own words, in any language, reads stronger than a long paragraph or a vague idea, because Cuebit reads for meaning, so extra words only add noise.
Ask for news, not a market screen
Cuebit watches events reported in the news: earnings, deals, launches, rulings, downgrades, and the like. It cannot rank or screen securities by price, moving averages, valuation or trend (software stocks above their 200-day average), because that is market data, not news. Name the action or change you want to hear about instead, and Cuebit will catch it, whichever company it touches.
Keep each Cue focused
A Cue can watch one security or a whole list of names you hold, and every one still gets covered. But packing dozens of unrelated names into one Cue trades focus for volume: you hear about all of them, just more of it. A shorter, related list, or splitting a wide interest into a few Cues, keeps each one sharp.
What each band looks like
Vague: "tell me about interesting AI news" names no action or change to catch, so Cuebit has nothing concrete to watch. General: "Apple" names a specific subject you are covered on, with no action yet. Clear: "Apple earnings" names the subject and the action or change, a real instruction. Precise: "Apple earnings that beat by over 5%" adds the specifics that pin down which results count, which is what a strong Cue looks like.