Step-by-step illustrated instructions for buying Bitcoin and converting it to Steem Power.  There is also a great deal (disguised as a social experiment) for those new to Coinbase (at the bottom of this post).

Requirements: drivers license (or national ID card) and a credit card (step-by-step instructions for using a bank account will be posted later but most users should be able to figure it out from the credit card instructions).

Minor Diversions:  I'm still a newbie and figuring out the ropes.  I first posted this four days ago and just wanted to edit it before sending it to some family members.  When I clicked on the update button, I got "Transaction failed:  comment.last_payout == fc::time_point_sec::min(): ".  Would I be correct in assuming that that means that you aren't allowed to edit posts after 12 hours?  This is highly unfortunate because it means that there isn't a static URL that can point to the latest version of a document (until the devs add that capability or someone like me develops a tool . . . .  :-)  I'm also likely to get a comment from the ever-awesome Cheetah for plagiarizing myself (but I cited myself so it's NOT plagiarism).

That post got $0.00 love (because I didn't know how to advertise then and had no followers) so please up-vote this if you want to see more newbie's guides like this (though I'll probably keep writing them anyways for family members even if not . . . . ).  Also, please do NOT flag me until I have had a chance to respond to any complaints by editing this.  

Also, my wife just joined Steemit with 

SIX SEXY HAIRY LEGS and I fell in LOVE! 

Please up-vote her and convince her to stay . . . . I'm thinking there's curation rewards to be had here  -- not to mention the fact that it'll make it easier to get the rest of the family to join and try to compete with her. 

Why you really should (if not need to) Power Up

Steem Power is exactly what you have vested in the Steem community.  Since you can only cash-out ~1%/week, it is a great indicator of how much you care about the long-term health of the community.  Therefore, your voting power in the community is directly related to your Steem Power (moderated by your reputation).

The base voting power of a typical newbie is currently about 1/5000th of a US dollar (you can check yours at  http://steemdollar.com/dollar_per_vote.php).  It will vary with the size of the community and the value of Steem, but currently (Aug 8, 2016) it can be estimated in USD by dividing your Steem Power by ~19,000. Dolphins and whales can immediately get on the trending lists merely by up-voting their own posts.  My own experience indicates that you likely won't even get curation awards until you have about $100 of Steem Power.

Equally, if not more important, is the fact that curation rewards are directly proportional to your Steem Power (as a percentage of the Steem Power of all other up-voters) heavily modified by the timeliness of your vote.  If you get in early before several whales hit, you can get some serious curation rewards -- again, if you have the Steem Power to take advantage of it (see https://steemit.com/steem-help/@liberosist/mind-your-votes-an-investigation-and-guide-to-maximizing-your-curation-rewards).  

Powering up is easy if you've been noticed and are making bank with your posts and comments.  Half your rewards are already in Steem Power and you can invest the other half by converting your Steem Dollars to Steem Power via either the internal market (immediate) or conversion (has a one week delay).  If you're having trouble being noticed or wish to invest more quickly, the rest of this article is for you.

The step-by-step instructions for buying Steem Power

Coinbase (https://www.coinbase.com/) is one of the larger, older and user-friendlier of the crypto-currency players.  They also have a great deal where you can get $110 worth of bitcoin for $100 and, if you follow our instructions, up to 9 Steem Dollars.

1.  Sign up for Coinbase using the referral link https://www.coinbase.com/join/57a36e81ae4b98503f8b08b9

You will see a screen like the following (Note: an invitation is necessary to get the extra $10 of BTC and I must invite you for you to get up to 9 SBD).

2. Click on Sign Up in the upper right corner, fill out the form and click on Create Account

3.  Go to your e-mail, open the verification email from Coinbase and click on the Verify Email Address link.

4.  Click on Next

5.  Link/verify your mobile phone by entering your mobile number, clicking on Next, entering the 2-step verification code that is sent to your mobile phone and then clicking on Next again.

6.  Click on Credit/Debit Card.

7.  Click on Upload ID.  Click on Start verification.

[Edit: Verifying your driver's license is the most difficult step.  It took me two days the first time I tried it.  Hopefully, with the steps below, you'll be able to do it in far less time.]

The webcam on my computer is apparently not of high enough resolution to successfully complete the verification.  If you have an android/iOS mobile phone or device, I would recommend using that instead.  Once I switched to my iPad, I was able to complete the verification once I learned one additional RULE . . . .

Do NOT fill the framing box with your ID.  Ensure that the ID doesn't take up more than about 80% of the box.  Ensure that all of the edges of your ID are visible in the Preview (shown after you take the picture).

My other difficulties were 

• a) the app is impossible to find in the AppStore via Search and 
• b) you only get a *very* limited number of verification attempts per day.

The direct links for the apps are as follows: iOS Android. You shouldn't need multiple attempts if you frame correctly.

8.  Select your country and then select your ID type.

It's interesting to see the IDs for each country.  Since passports are accepted from many countries, I'm surprised that they aren't implemented for the United States . . . .

9.  Click on the allow button above the dancing arrow in order to allow webcam access.

10.  Follow the instructions and use your webcam to photograph the front and back of your ID.

IMPORTANT!  Make sure that you can see the edges of your ID in the cropped images that you are asked to verify.

11.  Wait about a minute for the upload and verification process to complete.

12.  Enter your Credit Card information and click on next

Note that the standard credit card fee (plus a little more) is passed on to you . . . . ($3.75 of that $10 sign-up bonus is effectively lost here -- but wiring from you bank will generally cost around $15 so, unless you intend to buy more than $400, this is the better option and faster)

13.  Click on Buy Digital Currency

14.  Fill out your buy order and click on Buy Bitcoin Instantly

You can always reach this screen by clicking on Trade in the left menu.

15.  Click on Confirm Buy

16.  In a new browser tab, navigate to steemit, click on Buy Steem Power (at the top of the right column) and copy the address in gray (highlighted by a red arrow below)

17.  Return to your Coinbase tab and click on Send Request in the left menu

18.  Click on Confirm

19.  Return to your Steemit tab and watch your Steem Power arrive 

Note:  Bitcoin is slow to confirm transactions.  This will take anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour.

20.  If you want to take advantage of Coinbase's $10 offer, repeat steps 14-19 tomorrow.  You can check your transaction history to see that Coinbase gave you your extra $10 of bitcoin.

21.  If you wish to take part in our social experiment (regardless of whether you used my invite), send an e-mail titled "Steemit Social Experiment #1" to [email protected] and answer the following as if you were able to and did use my invite:
1) How much of the 10$ worth of the bitcoin I receive for referrals do you believe I deserve? 
2) How much do you actually wish for me to send back to you?

To those who used my invite and powered up their Steem account with $90 or more, I will send the answer to #2 (max 9 SBD upon receipt of coins from Coinbase).

To those who used my invite and did not power up their Steem account with $90 or more, I will send the half the answer to #2 (max 5 SBD upon receipt of coins from Coinbase).

To those who didn't use my invite, I will be sending some SBD (to encourage participation in future social experiments) -- the exact amount will be proportional to the answer to #2.

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REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE:  D161T4L W15D0M is attempting to compile a complete Newbies Guide for the Steem Community.  Suggestions as to how to improve the above are greatly appreciated.  We would also appreciate any pointers to *really* good existing guides -- or, even better, new ones that you would write and let us include (contact us if you need suggestions).