Here you will find @quinneaker's PROVEN tips, tricks, strategies, insights, and perspectives for achieving sustainable success on the Steem blockchain.
REVOLUTIONIZE your social media experience
EARN CRYPTOCURRENCY for posting and curating unique, quality content
JOIN a cutting edge community & establish networks around the globe
REVOLUTIONIZE your social media experience
EARN CRYPTOCURRENCY for posting and curating unique, quality content
JOIN a cutting edge community & establish networks around the globe
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STEEM POWERED SUCCESS SERIES!
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Here's what we will cover in this section:
Section 1: Intro
1. What is Steemit?
2. What is a blockchain?
3. What is fiat money vs. cryptocurrencies?
4. What is the Steem ecosystem? What are Steem, SBD, and Steem Power?
So let's get started!
AUDIO INSIGHT
An incentivized, blockchain-based, public content platform. ~ Steem Whitepaper
Steemit is a blogging and social media platform owned by Steemit, Inc and built on the STEEM blockchain. The site Steemit pays a legit currency called STEEM to the users who create content that the global community deems valuable. |

STEEM is an exceptionally efficient cryptocurrency which can be traded for Bitcoin, Ethereum, or BitShares, which can then be changed into any government-backed paper currency on Earth!
To build your Steem Power, you can either invest in STEEM using a currency you already have in abundance, OR you can earn it by being paid for your contributions to the STEEM blockchain, such as posting, reading, commenting, replying, upvoting, and curating.
Steemit represents a new paradigm gift economy. Like other social media platforms, it is a free service designed for engaging the world, PLUS it has the added benefit of getting PAID for your quality content!
Not only is it free to create a Steemit account, but users are actually gifted several USD worth of STEEM just to do so! As soon as your account is created, it is credited with the steemy gift.
It is free for you to give currency in the form of an upvote for the content you like, and it’s free for others to give currency to you for the quality content you share through their upvote!
It may seem too good to be true, but with over 500,000 accounts & 45,000 active users who can attest to these statements, maybe it’s time you find out for yourself...
2. What is a blockchain?
A block is a unit of digital data. The blockchain is a computer code, a decentralized ledger originally developed to account for Bitcoin transactions. Decentralized means there is no central authority that controls it - the code runs on a network of computers throughout the world that constantly check each other's work. To put it extremely simply, the blockchain is a record of digital data on a computer system spread out across the globe.
Now the blockchain is used to do things like record smart contracts, create cryptocurrency, and blaze the trail for social media in the attention economy on sites like Steemit.
Because of the unique and irrefutable way the blockchain records each unique transaction, there is no way to "cook the books" or cheat the system.
Obviously there are great benefits to an accounting method that cannot be corrupted! Uses for blockchain technology have exploded in recent years as more and more cutting edge individuals recognize the potential of an immutable, virtually indestructable, censorship resistant, peer-to-peer (P2P) network running on computers throughout the world, as well as currencies that bypass privately owned, for profit central banks that run on them.
Note that Steemit is only one app built on top of the STEEM blockchain, but it is currently the best known and most popular interface.
This STEEM POWERED SUCCESS SERIES will focus on using Steemit to access the STEEM blockchain, but we will discuss other apps in upcoming tutorials.
A block is a unit of digital data. The blockchain is a computer code, a decentralized ledger originally developed to account for Bitcoin transactions. Decentralized means there is no central authority that controls it - the code runs on a network of computers throughout the world that constantly check each other's work. To put it extremely simply, the blockchain is a record of digital data on a computer system spread out across the globe.
Now the blockchain is used to do things like record smart contracts, create cryptocurrency, and blaze the trail for social media in the attention economy on sites like Steemit.
Because of the unique and irrefutable way the blockchain records each unique transaction, there is no way to "cook the books" or cheat the system.
Obviously there are great benefits to an accounting method that cannot be corrupted! Uses for blockchain technology have exploded in recent years as more and more cutting edge individuals recognize the potential of an immutable, virtually indestructable, censorship resistant, peer-to-peer (P2P) network running on computers throughout the world, as well as currencies that bypass privately owned, for profit central banks that run on them.
Note that Steemit is only one app built on top of the STEEM blockchain, but it is currently the best known and most popular interface.
This STEEM POWERED SUCCESS SERIES will focus on using Steemit to access the STEEM blockchain, but we will discuss other apps in upcoming tutorials.
3. What is cryptocurrency?
Crytpcurrency is digital money and is sometimes called tokens, coins, or simply crypto(s). There are currently THOUSANDS of different cryptocurrencies, and quite honestly most of those in the market are complete scams.
Bitcoin is the grandaddy of them all, but with high fees and slow transaction times, it is quickly being replaced by more efficient coins.
All cryptos run on a blockchain, which means it is a decentralized form of currency that cannot be controlled by central banks.
The ease of use for any given cryptocurrency depends on the condition of their network as well as the infrastructure that exists for moving the digital money around the world, from buyers to sellers, and between merchants and consumers.
The STEEM blockchain rewards users in 3 types of native cryptocurrency: Steem, Steem Backed Dollars (SBD), and Steem Power (SP). Somewhat confusingly, all 3 cryptos are informally called STEEM.
In this program, we will use the all caps STEEM to refer to the STEEM blockchain and its trio of cryptos, and the lowercase Steem to refer only to one of those cryptos.

4. What is the STEEM economy? What are Steem, SBD, and SP?
Again, STEEM refers to the STEEM blockchain as well as its native trio of cryptos: Steem, Steem Backed Dollars (SBD), and Steem Power (SP).
Transactions on the STEEM blockchain have no transaction fees and a 3 second block confirmation time, which is practically instantaneous and vastly superior to other cryptos.
Steem, SBD, and SP are defined in the Steemit whitepaper. The bluepaper is a more digestible form for non-technical users.
To be brief, Steem is a liquid currency and the fundamental unit of account on the STEEM blockchain from which the other tokens derive their value.
Steem Backed Dollars (SBD) were intended to add stability to the STEEM ecosystem by pegging to the USD...but they broke through that bound to trade at over $18 for a bit and are at the time of this writing still worth well over $1.
Steem and SBD can be transferred to other Steemit users, used for the direct purchase of a wide range of real world goods and services, traded for each other on Steemit's internal exchange, or traded for BTC, ETH, and BTS on external exchanges (find more about that in Section 8).
Steem can be converted to Steem Power (SP) currently at a 1:1 ratio in a process called POWERING UP (note that SBDs cannot be powered up, but they can be traded for Steem, which can then be powered up). SP is vested shares in STEEM, and it is not liquid. It can be converted back to Steem over the course of 13 weeks in a process called POWERING DOWN.
The amount of SP a user has in their wallet determines their rank/classification as well as voting power on Steemit:
- Plankton 0 - 500 SP
- Minnow 500 - 5,000 SP
- Dolphin 5,000 - 50,000 SP
- Orca 50,000 - 500,000 SP
- Whale 500,000+ SP
SP determines a user's upvote value, and therefore how much they can award content creators as well as themselves.
So how do you earn STEEM?
A) Posting valuable content and POWERING UP
B) Curation
C) Delegation
D) Investing
A) Posting valuable content
This entire STEEM POWERED SUCCESS SERIES provides experience and strategies to guide you towards establishing reputable accounts with consistent support, so keep reading to learn more about content creation.
This section will specifically address the economics of post rewards.
STEEM users can post articles, photos, videos, and comments to the STEEM blockchain using a platform like Steemit or a variety of other apps (see Section 7 for other steemy apps).
Anyone in the community can then "like" AKA upvote this content.
Upvotes have value. The value depends on a few factors, including how much SP the voter has and the current price of Steem and SBDs.
Realistically everyone on Steemit wants valuable upvotes - otherwise you would write in your journal or give your data away on FB.
Note that posts are "live" for a 7 day payout period, and the community can upvote or downvote your content during this time. Votes cast after this time are meaningless as far as post rewards go.
The rewards you see at the bottom of your post or under the title on your homepage are POTENTIAL payouts, and these will most likely fluctuate to some degree over the one week payout period based on the changing value of STEEM and the collective community votes cast during this time, AKA the rewards pool.
There is a fixed amount of STEEM allocated to post rewards and distributed through upvotes every day. This is called the rewards pool. This is a detailed subject in itself, and there is more info about voting and the rewards pool in Section 3.
As more votes are cast, the fixed rewards pool must be distributed amongst more users, and therefore individual upvotes will be worth slightly less. As less votes are cast, the fixed rewards pool is distributed amongst fewer users, and therefore individual upvotes will be worth slightly more.
When composing a post (see more on this in Section 3), you can choose how you would like to receive your post rewards. Current options are for 100% SP Payout, 50/50 SBD to SP payout, or declined payout. Obviously 100% SP will directly pay in SP, but depending on the current and projected SBD value for the one week payout period, it might be more lucrative to choose 50/50 payout, then convert to Steem in the internal market, then power up Steem.
If your goal is to generate and access the most liquid form of STEEM, 50/50 payout is the way to go. The choice is of course yours and depends on the specifics of your lifestyle, but note that by powering up Steem (or converting SBD to Steem and then powering up) rather than cashing out, you have the ability to earn more now by upvoting yourself with higher SP, as well as supporting the future value of STEEM.
B) Curation
Steemit rewards not only content creators, but also users who find, upvote, and thereby bring exposure to content creators, AKA curators.
Currently, 75% of post rewards go to the author, and 25% go to curators.
So how do you earn STEEM?
A) Posting valuable content and POWERING UP
B) Curation
C) Delegation
D) Investing
A) Posting valuable content
This entire STEEM POWERED SUCCESS SERIES provides experience and strategies to guide you towards establishing reputable accounts with consistent support, so keep reading to learn more about content creation.
This section will specifically address the economics of post rewards.
STEEM users can post articles, photos, videos, and comments to the STEEM blockchain using a platform like Steemit or a variety of other apps (see Section 7 for other steemy apps).
Anyone in the community can then "like" AKA upvote this content.
Upvotes have value. The value depends on a few factors, including how much SP the voter has and the current price of Steem and SBDs.
Realistically everyone on Steemit wants valuable upvotes - otherwise you would write in your journal or give your data away on FB.
Note that posts are "live" for a 7 day payout period, and the community can upvote or downvote your content during this time. Votes cast after this time are meaningless as far as post rewards go.
The rewards you see at the bottom of your post or under the title on your homepage are POTENTIAL payouts, and these will most likely fluctuate to some degree over the one week payout period based on the changing value of STEEM and the collective community votes cast during this time, AKA the rewards pool.
There is a fixed amount of STEEM allocated to post rewards and distributed through upvotes every day. This is called the rewards pool. This is a detailed subject in itself, and there is more info about voting and the rewards pool in Section 3.
As more votes are cast, the fixed rewards pool must be distributed amongst more users, and therefore individual upvotes will be worth slightly less. As less votes are cast, the fixed rewards pool is distributed amongst fewer users, and therefore individual upvotes will be worth slightly more.
When composing a post (see more on this in Section 3), you can choose how you would like to receive your post rewards. Current options are for 100% SP Payout, 50/50 SBD to SP payout, or declined payout. Obviously 100% SP will directly pay in SP, but depending on the current and projected SBD value for the one week payout period, it might be more lucrative to choose 50/50 payout, then convert to Steem in the internal market, then power up Steem.
If your goal is to generate and access the most liquid form of STEEM, 50/50 payout is the way to go. The choice is of course yours and depends on the specifics of your lifestyle, but note that by powering up Steem (or converting SBD to Steem and then powering up) rather than cashing out, you have the ability to earn more now by upvoting yourself with higher SP, as well as supporting the future value of STEEM.
B) Curation
Steemit rewards not only content creators, but also users who find, upvote, and thereby bring exposure to content creators, AKA curators.
Currently, 75% of post rewards go to the author, and 25% go to curators.
The split of the 25% between the author and curator during the first 30 minutes is calculated linearly based on the time the vote is cast.
- If a post is upvoted the moment of posting, 100% of the curation reward goes to the author.
- At 3 minutes, 90% goes to the author and 10% to the curator.
- At 15 minutes it's a 50/50 split.
- At 27 minutes, 10% goes to the author and 90% to the curator.
- If a post is upvoted 30 min after posting, 100% of the curation reward goes to the curator.
~ Steemit FAQ
C) Delegation
Steemit users have the capability to delegate a portion of their SP to another user to use on their behalf. The reasons and mechanisms for this are beyond the scope of this Minnow tutorial, but suffice it to say that it is possible to "borrow" the SP of a higher account for a period of time to be used for purposes and terms agreed to by both parties.
This is one more reason networking is an important part of achieving success on Steemit. Learn more about networking in Section 5.
Steemit users have the capability to delegate a portion of their SP to another user to use on their behalf. The reasons and mechanisms for this are beyond the scope of this Minnow tutorial, but suffice it to say that it is possible to "borrow" the SP of a higher account for a period of time to be used for purposes and terms agreed to by both parties.
This is one more reason networking is an important part of achieving success on Steemit. Learn more about networking in Section 5.
D) Investing
As mentioned, you can trade Steem and SBD for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitshares on several external exchanges. Check coinmarketcap.com for current prices and exchanges.
For more info on quickly and easily increasing your STEEM holdings by investing, go to Section 9.
As mentioned, you can trade Steem and SBD for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Bitshares on several external exchanges. Check coinmarketcap.com for current prices and exchanges.
For more info on quickly and easily increasing your STEEM holdings by investing, go to Section 9.