I know this has been done a hundred times, and this is the second time I've done this myself. (The first time for another blog I was helping with).

I wanted to write, more or less a Quick start manual, or something of a "Read Me file" for newcomers to Steemit.
I'm going to answer some questions I get asked a lot and clarify some things that confused me when I first started. I tend to be scatterbrained, but I'm going to do my BEST to organize this so it's as easy to navigate as possible, but I Intend to be as comprehensive as I can be, and it still be (hopefully) readable.

IF YOU'RE NEW TO STEEMIT, my recommendation is to skim through this while you're waiting on your account to be verified (if you had to wait) then read through this again once you've logged in for the first time. It will make more sense when you're looking at it. So without further ado, let's get started.

Here is a link to the FAQ page, in case anyone would like to double check me, or need more in depth information. The info in this post comes mainly from my experience
on Steemit.

Keys:

If you're familiar with crypto-currency, It shouldn't take you long to figure out, and you can probably skip most of this section. If not, you might have something along these lines running through your head.

"When I signed up, I got this big, crazy password that looked like this, (VQZKjeGcjDOL5UlsuusFncCzWBQ7RKNUSesmQRMSGkVb). What in the world is this? Why does my password have to be so long?

Etc....

I guess I should start off by saying, without getting to deep into it yet, That your Steemit account isn't JUST a typical social media account. It's also, for lack of a better analogy, a bank account. Despite what you may hear on the news, Yes, MOST crypto-currencies meet the definition of, and in fact are, "real money". Steem is one of those, so you should treat it as such.

Now, your Steemit account has a "wallet". Think of that as the bank vault. The key that you got at sign up (big long string of random characters) is the master key to your account, or "private owner key". It not only signs you into Steemit, but It can also preform the function of all the other keys EXCEPT the Memo key. In other words, it not only opens the front door, it opens the vault and all the safety deposit boxes in the building. It just doesn't open the mailbox. Haha!

This key, with very few exceptions that I'm aware of, CANNOT be recovered. If you lose it, it's lost forever. This is why they say,

"The first rule of Steemit is: Do not lose your password.
The second rule of Steemit is: Do not lose your password.
The third rule of Steemit is: We cannot recover your password."

So, don't be shy. Backup the backup's backup, If you feel the need to, but, even though you'll have to use it to log in the first time, keep it offline as much as possible, and in a safe place. Or a couple-five safe places. Whatever makes you comfortable.

Other keys:

"OTHER KEYS?!" you say.

Yep. A few of them. It may seem excessive, but, it helps protect your account. You can find these keys by going to Wallet > Permissions.

Now, don't let this overwhelm you. It's as easy as copy and paste. You're not going to have to keep up with all of these. They are available under "permissions" in your wallet. But for every key, there are actually two. A private key, and a public key. If you need a private key to log into another service, such as Dtube, on the Steem blockchain, you'll simply click "show private key" across from the appropriate key, then copy and paste it.

The only one that won't be shown is your private owner key, that we covered earlier.

There are three other keys, besides the owner key.

• Active key:
  This key can do everything EXCEPT change the owner key, and decrypt private messages encrypted by your memo key.

• Posting key:
  This key only allows you to post, comment, vote, and follow other accounts. The private posting key is also the key you should typically be logging in with, unless you intend on transferring funds, voting for witness, etc.

• Memo Key:
  This key is the only key that can decrypt private messages sent to your account.

Keep your private keys safe. Make sure that if you're logging into another service on the Steem blockchain, that they are reputable, and that you are actually on the website you intend to log into and not getting phished. The ONLY service that I would be comfortable giving my owner key, at the time of this post, is SteemConnect.

Introduce Yourself:

When I first joined, Steemit was REALLY new. If introduction posts were a thing, I guess I missed the memo. Either way, It's an awesome idea! So, write a post and tell a little bit about yourself, your interests, your skills, how you ended up here, how you found out about Steemit, a few pictures etc.

But before you hit that post button!

Listen to me. Tags are important on Steemit. It's how people outside those already following you see your posts. If you're new, you probably don't have many, if any, followers, so, you do the math. On your introduction post, use the tag "introduceyourself". All one word. Watch that auto correct, it'll get ya every time. The first tag you put will be the main category your post goes in, so, make sure the tag is right before you hit post. One request. Please use the "introduceyourself" tag only once, for your introduction. Don't be "that guy". ........Girl.........Apache helicopter....Whatever......

Also! Please! If you make a post you wouldn't want you kid seeing, (Ya'll know what I'm talking about), make sure you use the "nsfw" (not safe for work) tag, and make it the first tag. Lets keep the adult stuff between adults, and not get anybody fired ;) . Cool? Cool, thanks.

Plagiarism and Reputation:

This should be self explanatory.
If you get caught copying other people's work, you're post is going to be flagged. Now, we all know, in the real world, You're not always going to be able to find the source for everything you use. Memes. Need I say more? However, If at all possible, If you do use other peoples work, in part or in whole, give credit where credit is due. Don't claim other people's work as your own.

I mentioned getting flagged.
This isn't Facebook. Your post won't "be removed for violating..." well, anything really, but think about your reputation.

That little number to the right of your name, that's your reputation score. In short, your posts get upvoted, it goes up, because people value your work. Your post gets flagged, it goes down. Usually you'll only get flagged for what I mentioned. Plagiarism and not using the "nsfw" tag when you should have. Again, please, don't be "that guy".

That leads me to a rule of thumb. You start with a reputation score of 25, if you haven't noticed already. If someone has a thousand followers, is following a thousand people and their reputation score is 25 or less, that should tell you something. I would't bother following them. That's the reason it's there. ;)

Steemit Universe:

There is more to Steem than Steemit.com.

We are in the dawning of the era of Dapps (decentralized applications). Steemit and all the things that run on the Steem blockchain have issues. That's par for the course. I honestly believe Steem has the potential to take down the big wigs. Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. There are SO many awesome projects going on right now. More and more people are coming to Steemit every day, and bringing their ideas with them. Steem and all it's projects are being improved every day by the community. It's a beautiful thing to see! Let me show you some of my favorite projects that you can use with your Steemit account.

Dtube

We have, basically, our own youtube. How awesome is that?!

SteemMonsters

SteemMonsters is a really high quality trading card game that I'm stoked about! Come join the fun!

Dsound

Dsound is all about audio! There are some really talented musicians on there! Go check it out! Maybe you'll be one of them!

Steem Projects

Steem projects has a list of all the projects on the Steem blockchain. You can browse through, or search a specific project. I'm not sure how often it's updated, but, if you've just got here, or been living under a rock, Dlive is no longer a thing on Steemit, FYI.

I really hope you find this helpful, and avoids some of the confusion I had when I first got here. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment. If I don't know, we'll find somebody that does, or figure it out together.

If you did find this helpful, please tap that little up arrow at the bottom, left of this post. It would be greatly appreciated.

God bless, and Enjoy Steemit.