The best message I can write to someone new on Steemit who has just posted on the ‘introduceyourself’ tag- EcoTrain Question of the Week

This week the ecoTrain are focusing on how we can help people who are new to Steemit. The question of the week was proposed to help us write the best posts we can to help minnows. This is the beginning of an outreach by ecoTrain so that we can best support the Steemit ecosystem and the many new people arriving and finding their way. I believe this is one of the most valuable things I can do with my time for Steemit, and I look forward to helping people discover Steemit in a positive and productive way. Here is my post!

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A VERY warm welcome to you @new-steemian ! Congratulations for joining the first social network of its kind, and also for figuring out how to write an introductory post! As you can see, there isn't that much exact guidance about how to use Steemit or indeed exactly what it is! That is because this is what some people call an Anarcho-Capitalist world. We are free to find our own way here, and whilst there aren't exactly any rules about how we to it, we do have several etiquettes that are good to honor.

There are many reasons why people come to Steemit, and of course earning money is a big factor a lot of people who come here. With that said, let me please give you some of the best advice I can to you, to give you the best chance of having a happy and prosperous time here. There are many new arrivals, and it can be confusing or unclear what is the right way to approach Steemit so that you can exist in harmony with the ecosystem. Whilst there is a great diversity of people using Steemit, we all have at least one thing in common. Whatever we choose to do here should always be to the benefit of the ecosystem as a whole!

Here are some examples of good things to do that help the ecosystem, as well as you!

• Post original content! Write about things in your own words rather than rehashing information you find on the Internet. If you do post about common topics, try to add value by adding something from your own perspective that is unique. Post about things you are passionate about, rather than what you think is going to be popular.
  
  
• When you comment try to add value to the post and keep your comments relevant. Please don't beg for attention or use someone else's post as your marketing ground. You will find that you will be flagged quite quickly for that!
  
  
• Try to up-vote and support new people with low power and reputation. The best thing you can do to help each other is to form small like minded groups with people who you resonate with.
  
  
• Be tolerant and respect each other! I have seen some eye-watering comments in my time, but even when I don't agree with someone, I am always respectful and polite when commenting. There is there is an option to 'flag' or 'down-vote' any comment or post, but its not approved of to do that just for a difference of opinion. Avoid flagging until you understand the ecosystem better.
  
  
• Stop up-voting when your Steem Power goes below 70-80%! Generally speaking if you up-vote no more than 10 times a day this won't happen. Your Steem power recharges at a rate of 20% per day. You can't see it on Steemit right now, but if you visit https://steemd.com/@new-steemian you will see your Voting Power displayed as a percentage.
  
  
• Be Authentic! Whilst we all love the positivity of Steemit, keeping it real is very important so that we don't end up a fake crew of people saying whatever it takes to be popular. If you want to understand this very well PLEASE watch Black Mirror Season 3 Episode 1 ' Called Nosedive' . Its a fantastic movie and a perfect example of what we are avoiding here!
  https://www.netflix.com/watch/80104627?trackId=14170289&tctx=0%2C0%2C666d6863-6d02-415b-876b-19b45e8b4ea2-217110291
  
  
• Buy some Steem Power! I am encouraging ALL Steemians to take $100 dollars and put it into Steem power. This is the best thing you can do for the whole ecosystem, and as more new comers do this, the more rewards you will be able to get from others as the Steem price rises. The easiest way to do this direct with a credit card is with https://changelly.com. This may turn out to be the best thing you could do with $100!

You will notice that every user-name has a number in brackets beside it and is our Reputation score. The starting score is 25, and the maximum possible is 80. There is no one with a rep score of 80 yet. Your reputation score is an indication and measure of your character and commitment to Steemit. It goes up when a post or comment of yours is up-voted, and it goes down if you get flagged. The higher the reputation score is, the more you can boost others, so getting an up-vote from someone with (71) is going to boost your score much more than someone with a rep score or (25). This is good to know, but be careful of just trying to engage popular people and not new comers. It is WELL worth spending time with new people and less popular people as they have much more time and are looking for friendships and valuable connections. I have met SO many wonderful people who are new here, they are the people who really read and comment on your posts!

The other important factor is Steem Power. It is someones Steem power that determines how much they can up-vote each other. You will get some Steem power as you receive up-votes, and you can also buy it and get a quick lift that will help you to show your appreciation for others and get more attention back in return. You may get lucky and receive a vote from @curie or many other people called Whales. There are many Whales on Steemit, and they are constantly scouring Steemit for good new posts to support. Whilst you shouldn't bother to try and chase these votes, it is always a great day when you get one. If you can follow my above advice, your lucky day will be sure to come!

I hope this has been helpful. I have tried to keep this post very non-technical. Whilst you can get pretty caught up in the very many technicalities, I really think it is not necessary. I chose to welcome you as your introduction post caught my eye because you had something interesting to say! Just keep focusing on that, and you won't need to know too many technical details. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, and I feel pretty confidant in saying that is the case with Steemit. Just enjoy the world that you create with others, and make the best of it, enjoy!

Oh and a word of warning! Steemit can be rather addictive. If you have a life or family outside of Steemit, be sure to remember them! ;-)
As we say here, STEEM ON!

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I leave you with some useful links to help you out a bit more!

• HOW TO CREATE A STEEMIT HEADER IMAGE TUTORIAL
• The All in One Steemit Guide for Newbies and Minnows (Tutorials, Guides, Advice) (fantastic post by @ilyastarar)
• What is the best message you can write to someone new on Steemit (lovely post by @sharoonyasir)
• https://steemit.com/steemit/@aboundlessworld/14-tips-for-steemit-newbies-i-wish-i-knew-when-starting lots of great pratical advice from @aboundlessworld
• Buy Bitcoin with a Credit Card on Bitstamp and Exchange to Steem with BlockTrades! @jerrybanfield write a LOT of great post including this one.

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