So rightly or wrongly I have the assumption that I should buy some steem, it seems like a sensible idea.
Now steem power seems to be good as you can if I understand right, upvote your own posts, upvote others and start to see some profit in steem dollars...as this is the thing that seems to make the difference in respect of votes on peoples posts. but only if you do it right, otherwise could you lose the lot? but it is a long term investment to get back over 104 weekly payments, so not for the faint hearted, but how do you have any idea of how much you would get back each week?
Buying steem dollars, now that I am even less sure on as I am not sure that there is much point in it at all, as you are buying it to buy it back again? or convert to steem power.. in which case why not buy steem power in the first place?
have I missed the point here? please help as I would like to invest but in the right way...
Steem Dollars (SBD) accrues interest over time and over the course of a year will drastically increase.
Steem Power (SP) is what matters when you vote or comment on posts, including your own. The more SP you have the higher impact your vote has. Steemit calls this Vote Weight.
You can go to steemstats.com and add anyone in the box on the top left and it will show you tons of information that will help you figure this all out.
ah okay, thank you. It all just seems so complicated and I want to make sure I do not make a mess of it. I have read a few guides but they feel a bit gobbledygook to me , never touched virtual currency before so this is a huge culture shock for me!
I admit I am a geek and this is my first foray into Crypto as well. I did a lot of reading and looked at a lot of stats trying to figure it all out and I didn't have steemstats.com to help me! Good luck and welcome to the SS Steemit!
Thank you .. I may be shouting for more help again but at least I am going to have ideas of who to shout at or for.. :)
@venuspcs - this is the first explanation that I actually understood! Thank you for that! When it comes to cryptocurrency, conversion, voting weight, timing... good gravy I need some to talk to me like I'm a 2nd grader. LOL
You never lose SP by voting people's posts. So don't worry about that. The payback formula is complicated, like really complicated, and it's dynamic because as the price of Steem changes and as the amount of people who have Powered Up their Steem changes, that affects your payouts.
I have all my Steem in Steem Power. I am long term believer in Steem and I want to influence how the site grows and be able to help people like you out with my votes. That's my choice.
For the less risk averse, the best way to invest in Steem is probably just to write great posts and make great content that helps the community. All you are risking is your time and you get paid 50% in Steem Power and 50% in SBD.
I would say I would not hold unpowered Steem, unless you are an experienced trader. You should turn it into SP or SBD or BTC.
Does this post help or did I make things more confusing?
Hi @eeks I'm a newbie that happens to be following @gowersgirl
I'm really trying to follow along and learn the ins and outs of steemit. It's slow going but totally fascinating. The only way my brain can comprehend the payouts and vote weight is comparing it to the stock market. Some days are good and some days it's in the toilet. That's part of "the game" right? So I'll just write and share on my social sites and see where it goes. Thank you for taking the time to explain. It's appreciated.
ermm honestly... probably made it worse. I can understand the best way is to write great posts bit. but the rest has flown over my head. I wish I was a geek ! ... I bet you are either thinking i'm very thick or just laughing in general at me. You would probably be warranted in the laughing, I am not thick , I have a degree but wow this is hard going.. :)
I don't think you are thick at all. The economic model is very complicated here. I am pretty sure everyone has it wrong wrt the market cap of Steem and that Steem and Steem Power should not be treated as being valued the same for instance. But everyone does.
Just focus on writing good things. That's the no-brainer answer.
If you really believe in Steem long term, than having more Steem Power makes sense. But in the future if you need help, ping me or direct message me in the slack and I'll try and help.