#Blog - Explaining three Steemit mechanics for newcomers

illyab(47)

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#Blog - Explaining three Steemit mechanics for newcomers

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Hello Steemians! This simple and straightforward post is for you newcomers that are looking forward to give your first steps onto this new world. Knowing these simple mechanics will allow you to understand better how the system works and will make this first week easier.

Our friend @donkeypong created an amazingly detailed tutorial on how the entire thing works, but this one is aimed at a shorter and more simple explanation.

Wait a minute...first week?

Yes, first week. Because the payment mechanics work in a weekly manner. This is just a way to keep the Steem currencies from growing out of control. First off, you'll need to understand the first mechanic right away which is:

1st - Currencies: Steem Power, Steem, Steem Dollars

Here's a direct explanation:

Steem Power: it's a sort of a currency valid only within Steem, where you have the power to support posters by upvoting their content, what will attach a value to be collected within the end of one week of his post. However this currency can be exchanged into Steem, which is the next subject of our tutorial.

You can upvote other posts at the expense of some of your Steem Power and you can even upvote your own content, to rack up your rewards.

Steem: a crypto-currency. This one can be exchanged for real currency, like the dollar or other cryptos like Litecoin and Bitcoin. You get Steem by Powering down your Steem power. This will be the second mechanic you'll learn about.

Steem Dollar: another crypto-currency. This currency is earned by choosing your Reward type, the third mechanic I'll talk about. Steem Dollars are usually more valuable than Steem, but that'll be according to the crypto-currency market.

2nd - Powering down

You can Power down your Steem Power to get Steem. You can choose an amount of your Steem Power to let go of in exchange of Steem currency. This will reduce your reward capabilities, but will grant you Steem. However this process take some time. You'll receive weekly payouts based on the amount of Steem Power you Power down within the time span of two years. Yeah, you got that right. Two years.

It means you'll get equal 104 shares of Steem within this time span. You can cancel your Power down at any time, but if you do it, you'll start over. I recommend you Powering down an amount until you get your first payment and when you get more Steem power, cancel and then restart your Power down. This will increase the payout by the end of the week.

How do I do that?

Open your wallet

Go on Balances and then click on your Steem power amount

Click Power down and choose the amount you want to Power down

Presto. You'll now get weekly Steem payouts within the span of two years.

3rd - Rewards

You can choose to be rewarded by you posts in three manners. Here are they:

Power up 100%: you'll get your rewards in Steem Power. The amount you get in your post will be credited as Steem Power at the end of the week cycle.

Default 50% / 50%: you'll get your rewards half in Steem Power and half in Steem Dollars. The amount you get in your post will be credited as Steem Power and Steem Dollars at the end of the week cycle.

Decline payout: you refuse your payouts, therefore preserving the Steem Dollars and Steem power of the people that upvote your post. Like Willy Wonka would say: you get nothing! This can be used if you wish to show the community that the payment is not important at the time. Use it at your own risk.

This is it for now. Welcome to Steemit and make sure you don't give up yet. It takes some time to get a steady string of payouts, but trust me. It's rewarding and it works. All it takes is dedication and the will to bring good content to the community!

Thank you and Steem on!

Who am I?
Just a regular person looking to make the world a better place. Steemit is home! Steemit is life!

@illyab - Keep in touch to get more content and steem on!