Welcome to the community. I think one thing to keep in mind about Steemit is that we ARE a community and most of us are looking out for the betterment of the community as a whole.
To reply to your more specific mention of Steem Power... One interesting thing is that you can upvote yourself. However, ONLY upvoting your own posts wouldn't be the way to go if you want Steemit to succeed as a community. Also... you would end up benefiting in the long run by "spreading the love", I believe.
I have also read many posts regarding the Power Up option and 50/50 option for payouts on your post. I read that 50/50 ends up being more of a payout...however you may want to research that and see if that's still true. I am only 90% sure.
There are plenty of quality posts on here explaining the details of it all.
I don't really understand this 50/50 stuff. Can you explain that more precisely please. I'm sure most beginners don't understand Steem Power, and the payout option.
Thanks in advance!
Go up top to "Submit a Story". In the bottom right of your post editor, you will see a "Rewards Option:"
That is what I'm talking about. You can select from 3 options.
50/50 - this pays you half in Steem power and half in STEEM dollars
Power Up - this puts all your rewards into Steem power
Decline Payout - This will make it so you get no payout from your post
What I read before is you'll get more Steem power if you take 50/50 then convert your STEEM dollars into Steem power on your own.
Another thing to take into consideration is STEEM dollars are liquid. Steem power is not. Steem power takes some time to power down, so it is sort of locked into the system for a time. Holding Steem power will help you earn more. But holding STEEM Dollars will NOT help you earn more.
Since I am just a little guy, I keep almost everything in Steem power.
I too am new to the community, and this comment was super helpful for understanding the payout stuff! Thank you boat loads!
I'm sure i read somewhere that Steem power is locked in for 2 years but i'm not certain on that. I'm also new so may be getting my wires crossed.