With the help of many Steemians, a while back I put together a lengthy Frequently Asked Questions, some of which is now used in the FAQ on Steemit.com. Since then, we've seen significant changes to the Steem ecosystem and have had many new users join us, so I think an update to the FAQ is overdue.

The full document is 56 pages long - so it's not overwhelming for readers, I'm going to update and post it one section at a time. Included in this post is the introductory section.

The following posts will include:

• Account Management
• Reputation
• Payouts
• Money
• Posting
• Voting
• Security
• Technical Questions
• Other

If you have any questions about Steem, let me know and I'll try to get them answered or add them to the updated FAQ. Also, if you notice any inaccuracies, please let me know.

Be sure to follow me to ensure you see my FAQ updates that I'll be posting over the next few days.

Steemit FAQ

What is Steemit.com?

Founded by @ned and @dan, Steemit is a blockchain-based social network that rewards users for posting and voting. The technology is advanced, but the proposition is simple: Blog, earn Steem.

Who are @ned and @dan?

Ned Scott, CEO @ned
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nedscott

Daniel Larimer, CTO @dan @dantheman
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-larimer-0a367089

What is the difference between Steem and Steemit?

Steem is the name of the entire blockchain-based & censorship-resistant system. Steem is also a name for the system’s value token (currency).

Steemit, Steemit.com and Steemit, Inc. are all names for a privately-owned company and a website which offers people a secure way to interact with Steem, the system. Steemit is simply an interface to view the blockchain content of Steem.

Busy.org is another way to interact with Steem.

Can I earn money on Steemit? How?

You can earn money various ways on Steemit:
Blogging - By sharing your original and unique posts, you can get upvotes by community members. Depending on the upvotes you receive, you will get a portion of that day’s total payout.
See: How do reward distributions work?

Curating - If you discover a post and upvote it before it gains Steem, you will receive a curation reward (if the curation award is at least 0.001 Steem Power). The reward amount will depend on the amount you have vested, called Steem Power.
See: What is the difference between STEEM, Steem Power, and Steem Dollars?
See: How do reward distributions work?

Investing - If you believe Steem tokens will increase in value, you may purchase Steem Power or “Power Up” your STEEM.
See: What is Powering Up and Powering Down?
See: Why should I Power Up and not cash out?

Saving - You may hold Steem Dollars, which currently yields interest (see your wallet to check the current interest rate).

Is Steemit a scam?

A scam usually starts with you having to give money to someone else. Steemit gives you currency (in the form of Steem Power) just for signing up. It doesn't require you to invest anything if you don’t want to. Steemit does require effort, however. Write and post your unique and original content. If the community upvotes it enough, you get paid.
See: Where does the money come from?

I don’t have the skills to create quality original content. Why should I join?

Don’t sell yourself short; everyone is good at something. Okay, you don’t write well. That’s fine! Are you a good photographer? Start a blog displaying your photos. Do you know a lot about football? Start a fantasy football blog, giving your best predictions each week and become the expert people seek for advice on their fantasy team that week. Maybe you are interested in arts and crafts? Display the work you’ve recently done. Video game connoisseur? Write reviews and tips for your favorite games. Can you make food look beautiful? Start a food blog!

If you honestly cannot think of anything you are good at or interested in, keep it in mind. Something will come to you. Until then, read the posts on Steemit and enjoy the great, fresh content!

Furthermore, Steemit gives you access to the earliest stage of this new exciting web technology and allows you to participate by doing things you may have already been doing! For example, posting and voting on content around the internet. Steemit is more than blog to earn. It’s social networking. Come and enjoy your time on the internet, let your voice be heard and join others curating a great place for content and networking.

Even if you don’t enjoy blogging or reading content, you will probably benefit from having a Steem wallet because it gives you a fast, cheap and easy way to transfer money around the world without restrictions.

Where does the money come from?

The currency of Steemit.com is Steem. The value of Steem comes from liquidity providers, investors, and traders on exchanges.

Using a pre-determined mathematical formula, the Steem network continually creates new Steem tokens to reward content creators and curators (for voting on blog posts). Some of the newly-created currency gets transferred to users who add value to Steemit by blogging, commenting, and voting on other people's blog posts. The remainder is distributed to holders of Steem Power and Steem witnesses.

The "money" at its core is like game tokens, distributed to creators and curators as rewards for successfully playing the game. What makes the system robust is that the tokens, traded on markets, have a real-time value. The markets allow Steem tokens to demonstrate their value. This way, when one has a Steem token, that person can know what their token is worth to other people. It is similar to how someone playing a video game could obtain a rare item by playing the game. If they have the scarce item, then they could potentially sell it on video game item markets. Think of Steem as a game system for content, where the rewards people earn are video game tokens that have real market value and are readily tradable for Bitcoin and USD.

Another way of looking at Steemit is as a website much like Reddit. However, it is different in that it pulls its information from a decentralized blockchain and cryptocurrency database called Steem rather than a centralized, private database. In this way, Steemit is also analogous to other blockchain-based businesses such as Blockchain.info, which pulls its data from the Bitcoin network.

Rewards paid to bloggers do not come from Steemit Inc, or investment in Steemit Inc. It comes from the Steem blockchain itself. Steemit does not and will not ever compensate the contributors of the Steem network for curating and creating content. Steemit is not a middleman to any of the blockchain processes, and the technology remains completely open source and transparent for anyone to audit and verify. Steemit is a social network built on the Steem blockchain, whose users are paid by the blockchain.
https://steemit.com/steem/@steemrollin/steem-where-does-the-money-come-from

What is the difference between STEEM, Steem Power, and Steem Dollars?

All three are currencies in the Steem network and fall under the umbrella of Steem tokens. All three types of Steem tokens play an important role in the Steem ecosystem. They are:

STEEM - The most liquid form of currency in the platform.You may convert STEEM into Steem Power by powering up, or you may trade it for another currency (like Bitcoin or Steem Dollars), on an exchange.

Steem Power - It is a measurement of how much influence you have on the platform, determines how much your vote is worth, and allows you to earn curation rewards. Having Steem Power is similar to owning restricted shares in a company. It is important to note, when you decide to cash out your Steem Power (Power Down), you will get paid equal payments of STEEM for the next 13 weeks. Once you start the powering down process, you can stop it at any time. You don't have to cash all of it out.

Steem Dollars - A smart contract promising you will get about $1 USD worth of Steem at the current market price. One Steem Dollar is always worth around one US Dollar, although it can vary a little. Steem Dollars must be turned into STEEM before they can be “Powered Up” into Steem Power.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@shredlord/steem-steem-dollars-and-steam-power-explained
https://steemit.com/steemit/@donkeypong/still-confused-by-steem-steem-dollars-and-steem-power-the-power-plant-analogy

Since new STEEM is always being created, how am I affected by holding STEEM, Steem Power, and Steem Dollars?

STEEM - The Steem inflation rate is 9.5% and that rate will decrease by about 0.5% per year. By holding STEEM, you are being diluted by that 9.5%.

Steem Power - 15% of the newly-created STEEM is paid as interest to holders of Steem Power. If you receive no curation rewards, you will still have some dilution, but not as much as if you were holding STEEM.

Currently, the top curators on the platform are earning significant returns after taking into account dilution.

Steem Dollars - No dilution. Steem Dollars actually earn some interest (go to your wallet to see the current interest rate).

Why won’t Steem Dollars become inflated?

Steem Dollars work differently from standard STEEM tokens. The issuance of STEEM tokens back Steem Dollars. When the value of the STEEM token goes down, more STEEM tokens are used to back the Steem Dollar. The Steem Dollar is affected little by the inflation of Steem with one exception: If the price of Steem tends towards zero.

In general, the price of 1 USD is a target price but the network cannot guarantee it under all circumstances. In particular, there are a few unlikely "Black Swan" events, like USD hyperinflation and Steem going to zero, which can affect the backing mechanism. Additionally, the number of Steem Dollars in circulation should not exceed 20% of Steem’s market capitalization for safety reasons.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@dantheman/steem-dollars-have-limits

What is Powering Up and Powering Down?

Powering Up - If you wish to gain more influence in the network, you must increase your Steem Power. Powering Up is the process of turning your Steem into Steem Power.

Powering Down - If you have Steem Power, and wish to cash out, you can begin to Power Down. While powering down, the network has calculated your Vests, which are a stable measure of STEEM supply. The system will transfer 1/13 of your Steem Power, computed as Vests, to STEEM each week for 13 weeks.
Example: 1,300 Steem Power will be paid out as 13 weekly payments of 100 Steem.

Users can continue to curate and earn curation rewards while powering down and may stop a power down at any time.
See: What are Vests?
See: Why should I Power Up and not cash out?

Can I create a Steem account without an email and phone number?

Yes, you can sign up using anonsteem which will give you an anonymous account.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@someguy123/anonsteem-create-anonymous-steem-accounts-without-social-media

I just signed up. Are there any steps I should take before I get started?

Yes! First and foremost, your account is worth money, so you should secure it.
https://steemit.com/steemit-guides/@pfunk/your-steem-account-is-worth-money-how-to-secure-it-with-a-new-owner-key-to-keep-it-yours-forever

Secondly, we urge you to read the rest of the FAQ, so you know the ins and outs of Steemit. We promise you will come out the other end a much more knowledgeable Steemian. Knowledge is power, and with your new superpowers, you are significantly more likely to achieve a high level of success.

What are “Tags and Topics”?

When creating a blog post, you have the option to tag it with relevant keywords. Doing so allows users to sort posts by topics of interest. For example, if you’re posting a recipe for a gluten-free and vegan pasta, you might use the tags: “food,” “gluten-free” and “vegan.” It is important to only use tags that are relevant to your post.
See: Why and how should I use tags?