Hello World!
Not a real book, for illustrative purposes only :)
Since there have been a lot of new users flooding in lately, I wanted to create a comprehensive guide that would demystify the deep complexities of the system while remaining human readable. I also wanted to make this guide to help all the friends and family that I brought Steem. It's an exciting and rewarding platform, but it can be difficult to find success without understanding the mechanics and the community that drives it. I hope you find this guide useful. Feel free to browse and find the information that is most relevant to you.
How Steem works
No one has to pay content creators to earn negotiable value for their work. Every day, payments are generated through the creation of new Steem and the Steemians (Steem users) decide which authors receive the payments by updating their content. The more Steem (Steem Power) vested shares a user has, the more the user's live vote is worth. In any other economic system, these methods would create an unfair distribution of wealth and devalue the currency, but there are some really clever mechanisms built into Steem that encourage fair distribution and prevent inflation from devaluing the Steem tab.
Immutable inflation plan that decreases every year
Inflation is built into the code. The code is agreed by consensus. It cannot be manipulated or changed by any centralized party. This is a far cry from our centralized, privatized and manipulated fiat systems. Right now, the inflation rate is 9.5% annually. Every year the inflation rate decreases by 0.5%, and will continue to do so until it reaches 1%, which is substantially less than the USD. With the decline in the inflation rate each year and the growth of the platform, Steem will become increasingly difficult to acquire as its value increases.
Long-term holding incentive
Inflation becomes a serious problem when people are encouraged to recirculate their money instead of keeping it. Steem Power is a long-term maintenance solution that offers the benefits of increased influence on the Steem ecosystem and a buffer against inflation through interest. Steem Power represents your acquired stake in the Steem ecosystem and gives you increased upvotes and curatorial rewards. It also counteracts inflation by providing interest. 15% of the Steem generated goes to the holders of SP shares based on their proportional share of SP. Igniting your Steem in Steem Power is an investment in the Steem economy with great benefits that eliminates Steem from the circulation. It is the mechanism that creates a lossless economy and allows inflation without continued loss of value.
Full transparency
There is complete transparency in Steem. You can see everyone's posts, responses, payments, and wallet. Unlike the FIAT system, in which big bankers, corporations, and wealthy people can hide their shady deals, the actions of all Slovaks are visible to all individuals without exception. In theory, this holds 1% accountable to 99%. It is what allowed the infamous to invoke the power of the masses and regulate unjust distributions.
Power holders are incentivized to support the growth of the platform and its users
Stake holders in Steem are incentivized to increase the quality and usefulness of the platform, since the value of Steem is linked to the success and growth of its users. If the whales toyed with the system to strengthen their controlling interest, Steem's courage would plummet as people would flock away and find it too difficult to succeed. The more stories people in the great community, great content, and great Steem payments share, the more users will flock to the platform creating more demand for Steem and increasing its value.
