This is an easily digestible (one stop shop) guide, to everything a Steemit newbee needs to know.
This is designed to simplify Steemit. We can call it a gateway to going on to the platform and using with confidence. So all you tech savvy Steemit users (which I consider myself to be), correct me if I'm wrong anywhere, but look beyond wording of the explanations and see it for what it is..
What is Steemit
Steemit is a blogging platform with a rewards based incentive program. Rewards are paid in Cryptocurrency (Steem Dollars and Steem Power, see explanations) which can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or national currency (more on this later).
Steemit operates on the Blockchain meaning it's decentralised, so it has no central authority that has access to your personal data. Everything you ever do will be on the blockchain, but with only your user name attached, and not your actual identity. Big problems exist with the way other social media platforms operate their privacy policies, Steemit solves these problems. There is no advertising, nor will there probably ever be. Revenue scheme have been discussed but have been centred around users paying for premium placing, rather than companies paying for advertising slots..
What is Steem
Think of Steem as a gateway to investing/divesting/trading in Steemit's success. Steem is a Cryptocurrency whose value is currently linked inextricably to user numbers of Steemit, and demand by the those users to invest in the platform. Eventually, the founders would like Steem to become the first stable Cryptocurrency, and are using Steemit to aid in circulation and distribution of the Cryptocurrency. Steem has a 100% dilution rate per annum, 10% gets distributed in rewards, the other 90% get paid out to Steem Power holder (more information to come). Steem's value will fluctuate in the near term, so for anyone thinking about investing in Steem, do it responsibly.
Bit complicated? Think of Steem as a new currency, like the USD. You can exchange them for Bitcoin (at Poloniex, Bittrex or OpenLedger) which can then be exchanged for $$$. They can also be 'Powered Up' to create Steem Power
For further thought on Steem's value, take a look at this;
https://steemit.com/steem/@hisnameisolllie/steem-it-s-all-about-power#@hisnameisolllie/re-sock-re-hisnameisolllie-steem-it-s-all-about-power-20160701t052533192z
What is Steem Power
This is a slightly longer term commitment to invest in Steem(it). Think of it like restricted stock. It's Steem which you have locked away for a rainy day, and in exchange for your long term commitment, you get paid a 90% per annum interest rate, which is paid consistently (day in day out) in the form of more Steem Power. If you want to cash out, you can 'Power Down' and you will receive 1/104th per week of the balance back in the form of Steem, while still earning your interest rate.. Steem Power are rewarded to content creator and curators.
What is Steem Dollars
Steem dollars is a pegged currency against the USD. It can be exchanged for Steem on the internal exchange, or sold for Bitcoin on external exchanges. Steem dollars, also known as SBD receives a 10% interest rate per annum. You can currently sell for a 30% premium against the USD, ie 1SBD is worth $1.05USD
With regards to all of the above currency, you don't 'need' to buy in (you can if you would like to), you can earn them with great original content, or savvy curation (upvoting good content early).
Where does the money come from?
Steemit rewards it's users for 2 activities.
Content Creation
If you post content, you get rewarded based on the upvotes you receive. Each members vote carries a different weighting depending on how much Steem Power that person owns. For instance:
A single voted from..
@one of the founders (founders of the site with x millions of Steem) vote is worth around $200+
@hisnameisollie (me) is worth $0.25
@newuser (roughly) $0.0001
So, who Upvotes your content makes a big difference.
Of the total amount attributed to a post,
the author gets 75% (50% of that in Steem Dollar, the other 50% in Steem Power). The other 25% goes to the the curators (voters). The author also get 50% of any reward that a child poster (replies) gets.
Content Cuartion
If you Upvote content, you share in the in the spoils. 25% of the pot goes to the curators. There are some reasonably complicated algorithm's which work out how much share you get. It is a function of your voting power, also it is a function of how early you upvote (i.e if your a good curators who picks content earlier than other members, you get a bigger reward) However, in the first 30mins, a share of your upvote will go to the creator, starting at 99% in minute 1 and staggering out to 1% in minute 29. This is to stop bots up voting everything before people have had a chance to read the content and make a judgement.
Voting power
Simply based on how much Steem Power you have. The more Steem Power you have, more power you have.
Payout schedule
Payout's are roughly (slightly more than) 24 hours after posting the content. You can check how long is left by clicking on the arrow to the right of the reward amount.
Dillution - Where the money comes from continued...
Steem is diluted at 100% per year, 10% gets paid out in rewards, 90% gets paid as a reward to Steem Power holders. Depending on how many upvotes you get and who has upvoted you, you get a bigger/lesser share of the reward pot. If you have a $100 reward for a post,
You will get $75 in rewards
- You will get $37.5 Steem Dollars and
- You will get $37.5 worth of Steem Power
Curators will share $25 worth of Steem Power
As long as there are people buying Steem, you can cash your rewards in. Recently there have been far more buyers, than people cashing rewards in, which explain the mighty appreciation in Steem value over the past month.
How to do a post
Click on Submit a Story (Near the top right of any page), Fill in the Title, Fill in your content and Tag it. Tagging is important as it adds your post to a topic. Look through the topic list and pick the ones which best reflect you content (or make your own tag if nothing suits). Write them in lower case, with a space between topics if you want to add multiple Tags
How to add a photo
I use https://imgsafe.org/ to host the photo. Upload the photo, Then click on it, Copy the URL and Paste it in your post where desired. You can view the preview to see whether everything is in order (below where you are compiling your post).
How to make bold font
#(Single Space)Words = Bigger
##(Single Space)Words = Big
Bigger
Big
General Site Navigation
Home page will always be Trending Content, but you can switch to Topics or Hot/New content by playing around with the 2 highlighted area's in the photo above
Drop Down Navigation Menu
Blog
You can see all your blogs you have ever posted. You can see how many votes and rewards you have..
Posts
You can see all the posts you have ever done, replies and blogs. You can see rewards earned, amount of upvotes and number of replies
Recent replies
This shows the most recent direct replies you have received. Giving you easy access to maintain a conversation/discussion with the community
Wallet
Your wallet shows all of your balances of Steem, Steem Power, Steem Dollars, and allows to to Power up Steem, Power Down Steem Power, and is a gateway to the internal market where you can trade Steem for Steem Dollar and Steem Dollars for Steem.
How to cash out
Steemit Search (Google)
If you want to search for particular information, easiest way is to go to google type of Steemit followed by what you want to know.... i.e. 'Steemit what is Steem dollars'
How will Steemit evolve
Best to let the founders tell you.. @dan and @ned
https://steemit.com/sip/@dan/escrow-sip-steem-improvement-proposal
https://steemit.com/steem/@dan/steemit-s-evil-plan-for-cryptocurrency-world-domination
Good Resources
http://steemtools.com
Charts: https://steemle.com/charts.php
Distribution: https://steemd.com/
Rich list: https://steemd.com/richlist
http://www.steemservices.com
If you have any questions; Don't hesitate to ask me anything..
Note that Steem Power itself is not a currency, Steem is. In the simplest sense, Steem Power is just another way of storing Steem.
I would suggest you add something about the fact that it is not actually interest. It is a way of compensating for dilution. However, this is still not very clear to me, I can't explain it.
This is outdated, as you can see on steemprices.com
Quiet right. I will male an edit to make that clear. I personally think that, Steem Power and Steem are (of coarse) inextricable linked, but because of the differences in liquidity (and thus value), it's ok to consider (for understanding purposes) them to be different. You are of coarse technically correct @syadastinasti
Again, I would refer you to see this post 'for what it is'. You are correct, and I know that it the case..
I'm not concerned with being Absolutely correct, just correct enough for people to understand what is going on. Many people don't understand what dilution is, but everyone understands interest. Either explanation doesn't change the outcome..
of course^^ it's a good post! Last tip: check the spelling, as it increases readability and thus its helpfulness.
@syadastinasti I have had a read through and corrected quiet a few grammatical mistakes. Thanks for the heads up. English is not my forte, and I'm sure I've missed few :)
@syadastinasti I will do that. Appreciate you reading through it for me.
quite long but very substantial. and informative to. will use this when im trying to convince my friends to use the platform
Written in a way a newbie can understand thank you.
@karenb54 You are welcome. That was the plan, I know what is going on, but I am not supper technical. Took me a while to get my head around everything, so I though I would be a good person to do a starter guide..
I am new spent most my time learning about the site, My first post was a practise to see that it came out alright. Taking my time as not very techy myself and these posts really help especially written so people can understand what your saying
Great @karenb54 It's always good to see new users coming to the platform. I would suggest doing a introduce yourself post. Go to some real effort with the photo's and content. Get some good humour in there, and you will get some love from the Community :)
That's what i am working on now thank you :)
This is actually a lot more helpful and than the White Paper (which is still an interesting read once tou get the hang of it). Especially the rewards system, which can get frustrating if you don't understand the mechanics.
Thanks :)
@rectusfemoris Thanks for your reply. The reward system is complicated to get you head around. I've been lucky to be here from the start and growth with the changes...
Very informative. Thanks for the help.
@hschim Your welcome. Feel free to post a questions if you have any..
Great introduction how to, thank you for share, have you seen you get 42 votes and 0.61 cents?
@bhokor Yep, you need one of the larger Steem Power holders to upvote you for the reward to increase dramatically.. It will generally hoover below $10 no matter how many upvotes you get..
Exactly what a newbie would require. Well done!
Thanks. Glad you think so @norbu
I am brand new and this is exactly what I needed. Are you a teacher? You have a knack for breaking information down into manageable chunks and added the pictures in the exact right place. Well done! And Thank You!
@hanshotfirst Thank you for your kind words. I've been a user of the platform for a few months, so have been lucky to learn as I've gone along.
I thought I would do this post because I'm not very technical, just like many of the new users, so thought I would make sense to many people who are confused by the site.
Not a teacher, but am happy to help you if you encounter any queries moving forward, just let me know..
Many people have a picture that appears to the left of the title of their post. Could you please explain how to do this? Thanks
Go to the section 'How to do a post' above and follow the guide on how to add a photo. Whichever photo appears first in your article, is the photo that appears to the left of each post...
Let me know if you have any issues..
Hi Ollie, thanks for the explanation. How do you follow people on steemit?