The Steemit network is quite young, and is constantly on boarding new users to this amazing platform. I want to give a brief description of what that number next to your name is for those that are new and somewhat new to the Steemit platform. The number next to your name starts at 25, and can quickly climb a few points if you begin to engage on the Steemit network by posting, commenting and replying. That number is your reputation score on Steemit, and as long as you adhere to some Steemit basics of not plagiarizing, spamming, scamming or being detrimental to Steemit or others on Steemit, then your reputation score should climb higher as you participate, but it will get harder to increase reputation with each increase. For example, going from a reputation of 29 to 30 will be much harder than when going from 28 to 29.

Your Steemit reputation number can also go down and even wind up in the negative below zero. It is important to avoid harming your reputation. Like in real life, character will determine your reputation, so to on Steemit. It is important that you care what other think of you while on Steemit, because that will ultimately determine your success here on Steemit. Please don't let others on Steemit fool you into thinking you can buy your reputation because while you can pay for up votes from Steemit accounts with higher reputation numbers, this will only work up to a certain point before it becomes very expensive. The best way to increase your reputation is by following the Steemit basics, by posting your own material, and truly engaging with others on this platform. Please don't think that by commenting "good job" or "nice artwork" or other generic statements is engaging, it is more spammy than anything and will not help you but hurt you.

I tried to find more material on reputation in the Steemit white paper but there wasn't much there in regards to user reputation. I found these posts by other Steemit users that might interest you if you want more of the technicals behind Steemit reputation.

I consider these must reads:

What is Steemit Rep. by @arcange This one is a little older but has some good basic information as well as charts and technical code regarding Steemit Reputation by Hive account@arcange

Steemit Reputation and How it's Calculated by @ilyastarar This is more recent post on reputation by Hive account@ilyastarar . This one also dives into technical aspects of Steemit reputation as well as gives insight into how Steemit reputation can affect your rewards on Steemit as well.

Illustrated Guide to Steemit Reputation by @sndbox This is a good article that somewhat simplifies how reputation works on Steemit. It also helps clear up some misconceptions about Steemit reputation by Hive account@sndbox

After reading these articles on Steemit reputation, you will have a better understanding of why it is important to cherish and protect your reputation while nurturing its growth on this quest we call Steemit.

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