What is a Steemit Upvote? [An Illustrated Guide to Rewards]
Toolkit posts are designed to help new Steemians get acquainted with the ins and outs of Steemit.com. If you have requests on components or systems related to Steem that you would like to see explained, please let us know in the comments below. [The graphics and text have been updated from our original Upvote post, here.]
What is an “Upvote”?
An upvote on Steemit.com is very different than a vote or action on any other social-media website. Clicking that little up-arrow is much more than a “Like” on Facebook or a “Heart” on Instagram. On Steemit, your vote taps into digital currency!
In today’s Toolkit post, we’ll explain what an “upvote” actually is, where the rewards come from and and how they are distributed to content creators and curators.
Where does the STEEM Come From?
In short - the blockchain! When you upvote someone’s post - Steem is not being withdrawn from your personal account. (This is a common misunderstanding.) You’re not giving anyone anything from your personal savings or Steem Power. Instead, your vote is actually tapping into a brand new batch of Steem. There’s a fresh digital batch produced everyday. Those new tokens are distributed among three parties; 10% to witnesses, 15% to Steem Power holders, and the majority goes towards authors and curators. That last category takes up the majority; 75% of all new Steem ends up here. That 75% is also known as the "rewards pool."
New Steem tokens are being created and distributed by the blockchain around the clock. How much? Right now there's tens of thousands (approximately 60,000/day) being created everyday. That's a lot! In 2016 the yearly inflation rate was +9.5%. That rate diminishes each year by 0.5% until the we reach about +1% inflation per year. So basically, there's a lot more Steem floating around now than there will be a few years from now! Check out this post by @penguinpablo to learn more.
What happens when you vote?
When you click the upvote button you are telling the Steem Blockchain, “this is where I want X amount of the daily rewards pool to go.” The amount that you’re able to direct is totally dependent on the amount of Steem Power you have in your wallet. So the more SP you have, the more of the daily rewards pool you can direct to posts you like! (Your vote is not affected by liquid Steem or Steem Dollars, learn more about the differences here.)
You can check how much "voting power" your account has at any time by plugging it in at this website - www.steemnow.com.
When you upvote YOU are earning Steem also!
Authors aren't the only ones earning. Curators earn too! An upvote on Steemit is also a tool for you to earn curation rewards. Simply put, when a post or comment is paid out a portion of the rewards is redistributed back to the people that helped generate that amount. If you upvote a post, you’re effectively helping it gain visibility and support and you’re rewarded for that curation.
The amount you earn back from the post you upvoted depends on a number of factors - how much the post made during payout, at what point in time you upvoted that post, the number of votes before you upvoted, voting power, and so on and so forth. Take a look at this article to learn more about curation rewards.
Thanks for reading! We hope you found this "Upvote Post" useful. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out in the comment section. Check out our other toolkit posts for helpful tips and tutorials :
Steemit 101
| Blog Post Description | |
|---|---|
 | Welcome to Steemit! - A welcome post for newcomers to Steemit and creatives interested in the world of cryptocurrency. |
 | What is Crypto & Blockchain? - The most digestible guide for newcomers to the technology. |
 | Basics of Steemit’s Interface - What everything means when you land on the Steemit website. |
 | Markdown Tutorial - Explanation of the markdown system and simple strategies for post structure. |
 | Steemit Post Best Practices - A basic rubric for high-quality Steemit posts for Sndbox members. |
 | Steemit Wallet - The ins and outs of the Steemit Wallet, its various categories, and how to interact with it. |
 | How much is your post worth? - How payout choices and redeeming functions operate. |
 | What is a Steemit Witness? - The role and responsibilities of a witness explained. |
 | What NOT to do on Steemit - Key and misc. pointers for new Steemians. |
 | Earn STEEM by Upvoting - A Guide to Curation Rewards - A guide to curation rewards based on upvote timing. |
 | What is a Steemit Reputation Score? - What your rating number means. |
 | The Benefits of Powering Up - A comprehensive guide to powering up. |
 | Learning From the Steemit Carrot - Exploring drop-down icons on Steemit. |
 | Art & Cryptocurrency - A New Stage for Craft in the 21st Century - An article on the impact of blockchain media on the creative world. |
Ok, I was definitely thinking down the incorrect avenue here.
Yes, I can admit, I was thinking somewhere, some way... my steem was going bye-bye. Thank you for clearing this up for me.
In regards to new steem tokens being created and distributed by the blockchain constantly... does this make the price less valuable since there are more being produced consistently? I'm thinking about how the USD is printed... the actual value of the dollar isn't much more than a sneeze into a tissue. The more the government produces, the less value it holds. Or am I incorrect?
Excellent question @goldendawne. In short (right now) Steem is counting on growth and a lot more users. (With eyes on the long term.) Luckily, our community is growing and people are building a lot of amazing applications onto Steem very frequently.
As time goes on there will be less and less Steem being "printed" each day. Inflation will dip down to +0.95% per year roughly 20 years from now. This whole timeline assumes big-time growth of the Steem ecosystem in the decade(s) to come. So it's true - the value of Steem could get chipped away over time if usership and utility begin to stagnate. Time will tell! But what's nice about Steem (and blockchain in general) is that the inflationary % is declining at a fixed rate. It's math that's predictable and immutable. Fiat can get printed and printed endlessly and circumstantially.
Thanks, you have answered some of my questions on steemit, still I want to know why sbd keeps reducing in the post before it pays out, and why posts that get $1 will still be divided by curators, I thought people only get curation rewards from $20 posts and above.
Oh, interesting questions @rejoiceavl... the $ amount that shows up at the bottom of each post actually fluctuates daily according to the market value of Steem. So before payout it can go up, down or stay the same (but for the most part it's always moving). Crypto is volatile :)
All posts are divided to curators and authors regardless of $ value. I don't believe there's a cut off point anywhere.
OK thanks alot for clarification.
Thank you for this simple answer. Definitely an explanation I can grasp onto.
I know my view, position and steemit career is long term; so I am anxious to see how many members continue on being dedicated to the platform and sharing quality posts and interaction over the next few years. I have noticed in the last month or so the quality of the commenting becoming a forefront positive change. And it's an optimistic change from the generic drive-by comments I saw months ago.
Thank you so much Sir, Finally i understand a little bit, how everyone makes money in Steemit. That's why i always follow you & read your post.I never bored while i am reading your post. You know how to present a difficult subject in simple & interesting way. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this information, it will help a lots of Steemians.
pijon (42) you are absolutely wright
Help to each other and enjoying life with more more money from steem plateform.
Thank you for your kind words @pijon! Glad this post could help clarify a few questions :D
You r Welcome Sir.
Seriously never knew this till now
Well thanks @sndbox for this great knowledge
No worries it's a very common misunderstanding! Upvoting others costs you nothing but "voting power" (which you do have a limited amount of). You can check your current Voting Power at https://www.steemnow.com/
Thanks so much
Mining, Blogging ,Vlogging, pretty much the same thing because of Steemit and Dtube.
you're making steemit a great community with your content ! keep it up!
Thank you for your article. It is really helpful for People who are new on this Platform especially for me too. Now I unterstand more.
Fantastic, glad it could help :)
this is what i love from @sndbox .. sndbox teaches about steemit and invites all steemina to succeed together, a very valuable lesson about the ins and outs of steemit. thank you his knowledge @sndbox .. I become more familiar with blogchain .. !! i will always be here with @sndbox !! happy to read this article :) !!
That is like a complete user manual to me.Thank's for such helpful post.A lot of new comers will be benefited by this post.I have a question if i earn 4 sbd then only half of the sbd comes into my wallet few portion goes to sp,where does the rest goes?Thank's for such useful post.@resteemed
Thank you! Here's an article that will help answer that question... :D
https://steemit.com/steemit/@sndbox/how-much-is-your-post-worth-a-steemit-rewards-guide
Thanks a lot for this artical very beneficial statistics you have percentage about upvote. Each one apprehend a touch but upvote is a big electricity, because a senior steemer only one upvote change the world of junior steemer. Good working boss
Thanks so much for this informative post, It's really helpful.
Many of my questions have been answered by this post and I'm quite sure that also applys to many other steemians out there