When the price goes up we get new users.  New-Users here are often referred to as Minnows, some find it demeaning, I think it is cute. 

Welcome New-Users!  (Minnows)It is great to see so many new-users signing up and checking out SteemIt.  It can be a tough learning curve if you are new to the Blockchain and Crypto.     As your Steem Power grows your voting power grows, your curation rewards grow, your following tends to grow.  Like any new job or industry you will learn some tricks and your skills get better.  Add to the that the potential for the price of Steem to grow, and the time you spend on SteemIt, could be well worth it.  As with all investments there are no guarantees.  There are some who push the best case studies, or "Get Rich Quick" ideas about the platform,  (it is possible, but not the typical results) but I am not excited about having a bunch of frustrated users, who are thinking they are doing something wrong because they haven't hit the Jack Pot on their fourth post.   I subscribe to the "promise less, deliver more" ideal.

Let's Talk About Some Financial Expectations:

(Everything thing I write here is based on my perspective and not meant to be seen as an official guide)

1. You will likely not trend or earn a lot right away, it takes time to build a following. 
2. Like anywhere else that you join or work your influence builds over time.
3. There are voting bots and not all votes are equal.  Votes are weighted with the Steem Power the account holds (At least for now) So, accounts that have been established and that hold a lot of Steem Power are the votes you want if your goal is earning.
4. Flags and down-votes happen.  When someone flags or down-votes your post it can reduce or remove the value of the votes you have received, changing the potential payout of your post.  Don't "bank" on having those rewards until the pay-out has occurred.
5. You will see posts calling out other users, criticizing the site, making allegations, I got caught up in this when I was new and it wasn't helpful.  My suggestion is to make sure you understand the site and the users a bit, before you get sucked into the rabbit hole of "It isn't fair or so and so is cheating". 
6. Just have fun, post about what you know or are interested in.  Post some questions, find some challenges, make comments. More on this in my next minnow post.
7. If you quit your job to work on SteemIt, make sure you can afford to make that decision, the site is in beta and still under development.  Market conditions, the site, the reward pool and many other things are subject to change without warning.
8. Make some friends!  Networking is a part of this game.

A while ago I made a new twitter account and despite making witty comments I rarely got a like or retweet.  They don't even deal with  money and you are still expected to build your own audience.  Earning here is possible, but not guaranteed.  While I agree there is too much money swapping between whales -complaining, threatening to quit, likely will not change that.  Oh and some people here aren't very nice.  That is the price you pay for an immutable blockchain.

 Don't drink and Steem.  ;)  (kidding, err mostly) Best of luck (plus some patience and effort) there is no guarantee of success - like anything else, keep trying and you will get better at it and also learn some of the finer points of success.  Welcome and enjoy remember you are among those savvy enough to recognize this is a sexy, cutting edge experiment, rough around the edges, but really cool for those who can handle it.  

Hive account@whatsup

Say Hi in the comments!