This post is intended to be an introduction to the Steem platform that I can share around other social media as a way to get some new people to join up. I welcome suggestions on how to improve it.

What is Steem?

You may have found your way to this post via a link I posted elsewhere. Steem is a cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, that operates on a sort of database called a blockchain. A blockchain is very different to the way platforms like Facebook store their data. Nobody has full control over it. Any updates use digital signatures to prove who it came from and a set of 'witnesses' verify those transactions to ensure they are not fraudulent. Steem has hundreds of witnesses who earn some of the Steem cryptocurrency for their work.

Steem has some advantages over Bitcoin. Transactions are free and only take about three seconds. The Steem blockchain can hold much more than financial transactions. It can contain blocks of text, such as this post, and also custom messages that can be used in games and other distributed applications (AKA dapps).

Steem is traded on the cryptocurrency markets and so its value can fluctuate. In the two and a half years I've been on the platform it's varied between 6c and $8. Some people have made a lot of money on that variability, but this about more than just speculation.

Users of Steem dapps can earn a portion of a reward pool that is distributed each day based on how others vote on their content. A like on Facebook is nice to have, but what if it made you a few cents? The value of each vote depends on how much Steem the voter holds in 'Steem Power'. That's sort of like a savings account that you have to give notice to withdraw from. It takes 13 weeks to revert it all back to Steem that you can trade, but having it gives you influence and the potential to earn curation rewards.

What is Steemit?

Steemit Inc is a US company founded by @Ned Scott and his former partner @Dan Larimer. They fund most of the development of the Steem blockchain and run the Steemit web site that is the primary access point for the blockchain.

You may have read that Steemit Inc have been struggling financially. This is at least partly down to a reduction in their income due to the fall in the Steem price and they had to let some staff go. Apparently these were not core blockchain developers, but it may delay the development of some features, such as communities. However the Steem community has taken on a lot of the burden of development and new dapps are appearing all the time.

What are other ways to use Steem?

There are numerous other front ends so you can choose one that suits your needs.

• Busy is like a better Steemit with notifications and a generally better look.
• Steempeak is more image-based and looks good for photographers to show their work.
• eSteem provide apps you can run on your desktop or mobile device.
• Partiko also have mobile apps, but I've not used them yet.

Posting via any of these gets your content onto the Steem blockchain where it can be seen by all users. There was news this week of a hacking group having their account blocked on Steemit, This may have been for breaking their terms of service, but it's still visible on the others.

What if I'm not a blogger?

Not everyone wants to write or read blogs. There are other options for them.

DTube is a video platform much like Youtube, but with the potential for any user to earn something and not just the top accounts with millions of subscribers. It's still in fairly early days and so it may not be as polished, but it's improving all the time.

DSound is the Steem equivalent of Soundcloud and is great for musicians to share their work and earn from it.

What if I'm a gamer?

There's also something for the games. The biggest game on Steem is currently Steem Monsters, where cards featuring various monsters can be put into battle against other players. You can buy a starter pack for $10 and then win more cards by achieving various goals. All the transactions for this happen on the Steem blockchain. Your cards are yours to sell as you wish and the rare ones can go for hundreds of dollars. I hear that some people make more from trading cards than they do from blogging, but you can of course blog about the game too and earn some more Steem to spend on cards.

Why should I use Steem?

Steem is an alternative to the big social sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc that mine their users for data so they can target ads at them. These platforms can ban or withdraw income from an any accounts they consider to be breaching their terms. Steem does not need ads, although some dapps use them to cover running costs, and you cannot be banned from the blockchain. Anyone can earn something there as long as they can find someone interested in what they do. Communities have formed around topics as diverse as gaming, running, knitting, art, writing and photography.

How can I track how I'm doing?

As the Steem data is all public anyone can use the data. There are numerous sites that present the stats in different ways so you can see where you support comes from. Here are some of them:

• I use Steem Now all the time to see what votes I'm getting and what I will get when the posts pay out after seven days.
• SteemWorld has even more stats.
• Steemitboard can rank accounts by various metrics.

Are there down sides?

Steem gives you a lot of freedom and some will choose to abuse that. There are some trolls who attack others just because they can and some of them have enough Steem Power to do some damage. So you take a risk if you speak out. This can be a problem, but many will value this freedom.

Anyone can set up a business on Steem and the most prominent is the selling of votes. This results in posts 'trending' just because someone paid for it rather than because the community like them. We have a counter to that in the form of flagging, but it's a matter of whether the community wants to do this. It's an evolving economy and we are still finding out what works. I do not buy votes, but there are various projects that will support you if you work with them. You can delegate some of your Steem Power to them so they can support more people.

My advice is to mostly ignore the Trending page. Look up tags around your interests and find people who share them. Following a few of those should provide you with an interesting feed.

What can I do with the Steem I make?

As I have said, Steem is a cryptocurrency and can be traded for other coins. There are people selling goods and services for it, but this is still at an early stage. I have bought art, music, comic and guitar picks for Steem. If you want to spend it in regular outlets then you can get a card like Wirex that you can top up with cryptocurrency. They do not support Steem directly, but there are exchanges that will convert it to others. I have used this method to buy a nice guitar and a couple of foreign trips.

How do I join up?

The standard way to join has been via Steemit, but you may have to wait a while for your account to become active as they are supposed to be checking accounts are not being created to abuse the system. That has not always been successful. Each account has a cost associated with it and so there are services that will create an account for a fee. If you buy a Steem Monsters starter pack you get an account straight away.

As an alternative existing users with enough Steem Power can claim accounts that they can give away.I have built up a few and I'm hoping that some people who read this will be interested in having them. I'm going to be a little choosy as I want to see that you are producing good content on other social media so that I know you are going to add value to Steem. In some cases I will delegate Steem Power to new accounts so that they are able to do more to start with. If you are interested then please contact me. You can find me as steevc on various platforms, including Gmail.

What has Steem done for Steve?

I came to Steem out of curiosity in mid-2016. I was interested in the possibilities of cryptocurrency and how it could benefit people around the world, not just in the rich 'minority world'. Of course I saw the potential to earn something, but I have used many social sites just for fun. I enjoy the communities. I found some great ones on Steem. I have used some of what I made to attend the Steemfest events in Lisbon and Krakow where I found a great bunch of people from all around the world who really want to make a difference. It's not just about getting rich, but of course some will.

If you are reading this as an existing Steemian then I'd be grateful if you could say something about what Steem has meant to you and what advantages you see in it. This is an opportunity to sell the dream to others.

More information

I plan to write more posts with useful information for new users and I will add links here.

• Tips on formatting posts and linking

Links

• The Welcome page has some tips for new users. The most important of these is to keep your keys secure. Print them out if necessary and keep that somewhere very safe.
• The FAQ answers more of your questions.
• On the Steemit menu (top right of the page) there are also links to the White Paper and Blue Paper. These go into some detail about how it's all intended to work.

Steem on!

I'm Steve, the geeky guitarist.

• I'll buy guitar picks for Steem
• Get a Wirex Debit Card to spend your crypto.
• Get some passive income with Mannabase
• Get paid to search at Presearch
• Battle for cards on Steem Monsters