#steemgrowth; Why you should store steem as steem power(SP)

Before anything let us clear what I'd consider a misconception about steemit currencies.

Some times I hear people say Steemit has 3 different currencies but that is not exactly true, mind you TRX isn't part of all this. Here on steemit we have 2 currencies only which are STEEM & SBD(steem dollars) so steem power(SP) is the same as STEEM. You may be wondering where i kept out TRX coins received, well TRX is a token on it's own and has it's blockchain, so we get TRX like a bonus for every SP we earn in the ratio 1:1 and this was only made functional toward 2020's end. Now when you convert your STEEM to SP during a power up, its not like you're trading it to get another currency. Instead, what you do is what is called staking which is you storing your STEEM for a longer time like keeping it in a vault.

When posts are created we earn SBD which you can later convert to steem in the market, you also earn TRX and you earn SP directly.

Why is it important to keep steem as SP?

Well if at all you want to make earnings, then you need SP and there are 4 things that happen when you have SP.

1. Daily allotment of votes

2. Earn Interest

3. Daily allotment of bandwidth to use Steemit

4. More curation reward

5. Right to vote Steemit witnesses (leadership)

Some of us here on steemit have very little amount of SP in our accounts and at the same time we complain the highest about not making any money. So let's us just imagine now that I lended you 0.00frs(0steem) but I'm expecting a return from you in hundreds. Wouldn't you just think I am very crazy???
You can't decide to invest 0.00frs(0steem) in a stock market or into a business and yet expect to get rich.

SP or steem power is an investment and so it needs to be treated like one.

1. Daily allotment of votes;
The moment you have SP, you can then use your daily amount of votes to rate content of other users. By doing that, you are rewarded in SP and SBD. Also, having SP in your account allows you to get or make interest. It may not be a huge amount, but then it is like an added bonus.

2. SP also gives you bandwidth;
When you just create a new account, it is provided a small amount of SP and vote delegation which means Steemit Inc gives you some votes you can use and some bandwidth which is hardly enough to stop the account from dying. If your SP gets too small, then your account won't function since it isn't creating enough bandwidth to be used. But this doesn't mean your SP is consumed to create that bandwidth. Rather the bandwidth your reward for staking STEEM as SP in your account.

3. SP gives you the right to vote for 30 witnesses;
The people who keep the blockchain alive are called witnesses and when you store SP, you get a right to vote for them. The more the SP, the more the weight of your vote. So if a witness is doing poorly at recording data like comments, votes or transactions to the block chain, then you can switch your vote to someone who is doing the job better. Have you even for once wondered why out STEEM transactions are just fasr nd free? Well I have, and to me that is because the witnesses who are processing the transactions are doing a great job and won't want to lose their votes.

4. You get more curation rewards;
When you upvote content of other users, you can also earn steem power. Curators get a percentage of the rewards of the post they voted on during its pays out. The amount of SP your have determines the strength of your vote. So more steem power comes with more profit or strength of your vote and curation reward.

5. SP legitimizes you;
After you created your account and was given an amount of SP but now there is no investment from you owning the account, others may just think you are probably using Steemit for entertainment or other purposes which is totally acceptable, if you are okay with not geting voted because they think you are there to read only articles.

Now let's do a small exercise. Remember the time I made you imagine I lended you 0.00frs(0steem) but expected returns? Well now imagine the look on your face when I come to you for payments of the loan that was 0.00frs(0steem). I think your face will be something like that;

^Source

Glad you got a mental picture😂 since that face is what you will get when you've invested 0.00 in your account but you're beging for votes or get angey that you don't make any money.

You see investing in steem power doesn't necessarily mean you must buy steem with your local currency which is still a good thing to do if you can. Power ups are also part of investments which is why there are different power up clubs(club5050, club75 and club100). You can't expect to withdraw once you earn without building your account and yet expect to earn like someone powering up most or a percentage of their earnings. Your time, consistency and effort is also part of investing. With all that, you not only get to earn more but also help contribute to #steemgrowth.

Now it is time for you to make a decision:

a) Use steemit to only read articles,comment and not invest.
b) Use Steemit as an investment where you make money and invest in SP.

Thanks for reading, see ya!!!