Welcome to Steemit!
This page is full of information to help you learn about the platform and become a successful Steemian. You can return to this page at any time by clicking on the "Welcome" link in the main menu. There is a table of contents below to help you navigate the page.
Included on the page is a "To Do List" with recommended steps to get started with your account, and a "Quick Start Guide" with information on how the platform works.
Below that is a section of "Helpful Posts from Steemit Users", which contains a collection of posts from users in the community that are helpful for new users getting started.
Below that is a list of recommended users to follow, a collection of other resources including the FAQ Page and Steem bluepaper, as well as information on where to find live help.
Table of ContentsTo Do ListBackup your passwordReview the Quick Start GuideRead the Helpful Posts from Steemit UsersSetup your Profile, Avatar, and Cover ImageChoose your "NSFW" (Not Safe for Work) Display PreferenceSign Up for Steem ChatCreate your "introduceyourself" postLearn moreQuick Start GuideNo Cost to ParticipateUpvotesCommentsCreating PostsFollowers and FeedsResteemDigital CurrenciesCurationPaymentsReputationCashing out or Spending SBDPlagiarismPassword SecurityEarning on SteemitHelpful Posts from Steemit UsersUsers to FollowOther ResourcesLive HelpThird Party ReferencesTo Do List
- Backup your password
Unlike centralized web services, the Steem Blockchain has no account password recovery.
You are entirely responsible for keeping your password, and keeping it secure.
Save your master key and keep it somewhere safe.
It is strongly recommended that you store an offline copy of your password somewhere safe in case of a hard drive failure or other calamity. Consider digital offline storage, such as a flash drive or burned CD, as well as printed paper. Use a safe deposit box for best redundancy.
If your account is valuable, treat it like a valuable!
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- Review the Quick Start Guide
The Quick Start Guide section of this Welcome page contains basic information to help get you started.
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- Read the Helpful Posts from Steemit Users
The Helpful Posts from Steemit Users section of this Welcome page contains many well written articles from members of the community with tips on how to succeed.
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- Setup your Profile, Avatar, and Cover Image
Under your user settings, you can update your profile. This includes your display name, location, about info, and website.
To set your avatar image, type or paste a link to the URL where the image is located into the "Profile Picture URL" field.
To set your cover image, type or paste a link to the URL where the image is located into the "Cover Image URL" field.
Once you have made all your changes, click the "Update" button to save your profile.
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- Choose your "NSFW" (Not Safe for Work) Display Preference
By default, content that users have tagged as "NSFW" will be hidden, but a link will be shown to reveal the content.
You can update your display preference so that NSFW content is always shown by default, or is completely hidden with no option to reveal.
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- Sign Up for Steem Chat
A lot of users hang out and chat when they are not posting or browsing Steemit. It is a great place to meet people!
There is a link to sign up in the main menu in the upper right corner.
Your steem.chat account is a separate account from your Steem account.
Some channels allow you to share links, but others don't. For instance, general is for discussion without link promotion, while postpromotion is for promoting your Steemit posts.
Each channel will have its rules posted in the "Info" section.
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- Create your "introduceyourself" post
While not required, the tradition for new users is to create an "introduceyourself" post, to let the community know who you are.
You can see some examples of what other people have done here.
It is not required, but a lot of users will take a picture of themselves holding up a piece of paper that says "Steemit" with the current date, so we know you are a real person.
It is not required either, but if you have other social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) you can help the community verify that you are who you say you are, by sharing the link to your Steemit introduceyourself post with those accounts. If you are claiming to be someone famous, this is pretty much expected.
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- Learn more
The Other Resources section of this Welcome page contains additional resouces to learn more about the platform. The FAQ page contains answers to the most commonly asked questions, and the bluepaper explains how the platform works.
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Quick Start GuideNo Cost to Participate
It is free to post, comment, or upvote all content on Steemit.com. You might even get paid for it!
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Upvotes
Upvotes are Steemit's way of saying you like someone's post or comment.
To upvote, click on the Upvote icon at the bottom of the comment/post.
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Comments
When you are first starting out, commenting on other people's posts can be a great way to get involved and connect with people!
To comment on a post, or reply to an existing comment, click on the "Reply" link at the bottom of the post/comment.
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Creating Posts
To create a post, click on the "Post" link in the upper right corner.
Posts have three main parts: Title, Content, Tags.
You will want to make your title attention grabbing, and relevant to your content. The first image that you use will be the thumbnail image.
Tags will help people find your posts. Each post can have up to five tags, separated by spaces. The tags should all be relevant to the content in the post. You can browse content by tags, as well as see a list of popular tags that other users have used in their posts here.
There are several guides for creating posts in the "Helpful Posts from Steemit Users" section below.
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Followers and Feeds
To follow an author, click on their username and click the "Follow" button.
Once you follow someone, all of their posts will show up in your "Feed" on the homepage when you login.
As other Steemians come across your posts and comments, you will start to gain followers.
You can see all of your followers and the people you are following in your profile page.
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Resteem
If you want to share someone else's post with all of your followers, click on the resteem icon.
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Digital Currencies
STEEM, Steem Power and Steem Dollars are the three forms of digital currency used by the Steem Blockchain.
More information on the three types of tokens can be found in the Steemit FAQ.
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Curation
Up to 25% of the reward for posts goes to the people who voted on it. These people are called curators.
The more Steem Power you have in your account, the more your upvotes will be worth, and the more potential curation rewards you can earn!
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Payments
Payouts are made 7 days after the post/comment is created. You can claim your rewards in your wallet after 7 days.
The payments may fluctuate (up and down) until the final payment is reached.
Payments for posts are split between the author (at least 75%) and the curators (up to 25%).
The author reward is paid 50% in Steem Power, and 50% in liquid STEEM/SBD.
Authors also have the option to decline payout, or be paid in 100% Steem Power!
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Reputation
A reputation score is one way Steemit measures the amount of value you have brought to the community.
The higher the number, the more weighted votes an account has earned.
All new users start at 25.
Your reputation will go up as you earn upvotes for your posts and comments, but it can come down if they are flagged.
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Cashing out or Spending SBD
You can exchange SBD for STEEM in the Currency Market. Once you have STEEM, you can "Power Up" in your wallet to gain additional Steem Power.
You can spend your SBD at the Peerhub Store.
You can also exchange your STEEM and SBD for bitcoin on a third-party exchange such as BlockTrades or Bittrex.
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Plagiarism
The community is looking for you to add your own personal touch to your articles.
Plagiarizing, that is posting someone else's work as if it were your own, is very frowned upon by the Steemit community.
If you are using anyone else's material as part of your posts (including images) - please cite your sources.
Also, make sure that you are not violating any copyright laws if you are using someone else's material/images. Limited, sourced material sharing is OK under fair use and fair dealing doctrines.
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Password Security
There is no lost password recovery for Steem accounts. You are 100% responsible for having it backed up. This means secure digital backups, as well as secured paper backups, off-site if possible.
Your Steemit account is worth real money. Treat your Steemit password like you would your bank password, and keep it secure!
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Earning on Steemit
The best attitude to have is to expect to make nothing. Have fun. Get engaged. Make friends. If along the way you earn something - bonus!
It is possible to earn thousands of dollars, but most authors who are doing this have put in a lot of time and work to contribute to the community and build followings.
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Helpful Posts from Steemit UsersPosting and Markdown BasicsWays to Spend Your Hard Earned STEEM/SBDAdvice on How To Build a FollowingSteemit Etiquette GuideIntroduceyourself Example8 Mistakes to AvoidAdvice on using TagsGuide To Steemit PayoutsSteemit Succeeds if We Make it SucceedUnderstanding Your WalletWitness Voting GuideSteemit for ArtistsSteem Chat GuideVideo interview on how to be successfulHow to use Blocktrades to exchange STEEM/SBD for BTCSBD to bitcoin (BTC) using Blocktrades, then BTC to Euro or USD Using CEX.ioA Guide To Cashing Out Your STEEM/SBD Using PayPalHow to Make Your Presence KnownEmojis for Steemit5 Markdown TipsHow to Get Noticed if You Are a New User on SteemitCuration Rewards ExplainedMore Information on Curation RewardsEverything you need to know about potential payouts and flaggingThe Ultimate Guide of Tips for New Steem UsersWays to Find Free and Legal ImagesSteem Keys and Passwords GuideUnwritten Rules of SteemitAdvice on How to Succeed on Steemit: Come to Give, Not to TakeBest Practices for Steemit ArtistsSTEEM The Super Basic ExplanationBlogging ToolsHow to Create Different Types of Blog Content
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Users to Follow@steemitblog - Official Steemit Announcements@ned - Ned Scott, CEO and Co-Founder of Steemit
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Other ResourcesFAQ - Answers to commonly asked questionsBluepaper - Explanation of how the platform worksSteemit Help - Community maintained help pagesThe Steem Whitepaper - Technical details of the Steem blockchain