Should you be powering up to Steem Power?
I’ve been on Steem for a while now, and have managed to acquire a few extra SBD that aren't really going to any use, so I have started to look into the pros and cons of powering them up into Steem Power.
Powering up
Powering up is essentially converting your liquid Steem/SBD into Steem Power - Steem Power are less liquid but will give you more influence over the Steem platform - leading to your upvotes being worth more, increasing the amount of allocated bandwidth and also increasing curation rewards.
I remember when I joined Steemit, and up until recently have held onto any liquid currency as I know it will be much easier to convert to FIAT. However, after being on here around 4 months I have realised a few things:
- Steem and blogging on the Steem blockchain is a long term thing - most of us won't get rich quick on here, and by investing in more SP you are investing in the platform and also in your own future success
- SP is important especially in the beginning - the sooner you can acquire around 30SP the soon you will be done with those awful bandwidth issues (I wish I knew this when I joined!).
So I think that if you are ‘in for the long haul’ and believe in the future of Steem then powering up is the best way to grow your account and influence. I will always leave a few SBD in my account as I run competitions from time to time, and want to keep some spare for any prizes.
However, make sure that you are committed to Steem, because once you have powered up, it takes 13 weeks to power that SP down into Steem again!
Timing of powering up
In a perfect world it would be best to power up when SBD are greater in price than Steem - In November last year that ratio peaked at about 4:1 - meaning that for every 1SBD you would get 4 Steem! However, I have been here four months now and have yet to see SBD great in price than Steem.
At the moment the ratio is sitting at around 0.7 - meaning that for every SBD you trade you will get around 0.7 Steem.
So in terms of the timing it is really up to the individual, but I am personally going to start putting away small amounts of my SBD into SP - it seems a small amount here and there will make a big difference in the future! I read a great post about this idea by @tarazkp here
How to power up
Powering up is a pretty simple process on Steemit. Firstly you need to convert your SBD to Steem. To do this simply navigate to your wallet click next to your Steem dollars and click market:
You will then be taken to the market screen (it looks a bit confusing but don't worry it isn't!) What you are interested in is the left side in green where it says ‘buy steem’. The price should already be entered as the ‘lowest ask’ - meaning it is the lowest someone is wanting to trade for at the moment - you can put this lower if you would like but it means you probably won't find someone who want to trade. Now all you need to do is enter the amount of Steem you want to buy and then click buy steem! You are essentially trading with other users, so depending on the demand the Steem could take a little while to appear in your account.
Once the transfer is complete all you need to do is navigate back to your wallet and click next to Steem, and then click on power up, and enter the ammount you want to power up in to Steem Power.
Conclusion
Powering up is essentially converting your liquid currency to Steem Power, which will give you more influence on Steem - higher upvotes, more bandwidth and higher curation rewards.
If you believe in the long term success of Steem, and want to grow your account then powering up cana be a great way to increase you influence on the platform.
If you have any questions, comments or reccomendations I would love to hear from you!
Yes! lol
Good post, a lot of people lately on Steemit think they turn rich overnight... But like you said, Steem is for the long run and (for me) not the motivation to get rich or take quick cash :)...
I put everything I earn back into SP with exeption that I am too running some competition where I want to reward with SBD, so I keep some in my wallet too..
Enjoy your day !!
Thanks @verhp11 - yeah Steem is defiently a long term investment. Its a bit crap with the market at the moment being so depressed and I do think we will see a lot less posting for a bit - which shows peoples mindset - you should actually be posting more in these times as its easier to earn Steem!
Thanks enjoy your day too :)
I think it is worth powering up if you spend a bit of time on here. Thing is, it's not a safe investment. I think most of the crypto currencies today are going to be gone in five or 10 years, and there will be several big winners left. I think steem has a good chance of being one of the winners, in which case people will get a big return on their investment, but there is also a significant chance it will disappear.
Yeah I seem to spend a bit of time on here @flyyingkiwi - but will be alot less over summer as we are travelling and so wont have much time. Yeah I agree its a volatile place and who know what might happen - the governent could make some changes and become more strict.
Well at the moment I dont really need the extra money (all though it would be nice!) so if Steem crashes and burns then at least I tried :P
Excellent post mate. I've powered up and bought Steem before, but there were a few things in there I didn't know. Always learning!
I've been trying to hoard as much Steem recently to use for SBI nominations so not been using it to power up.
Thanks! Yeah thats the thing with Steem always something to learn!
I have been taking most of the SBD I make and turning it into SP, it makes the most sense to me since I'm in it for the long haul. Though now I'm saving my pennies to get a starter pack so I can play the new @steemmonsters game!
What is Steemmonsters? Sounds like fun...
It is a new rpg like card battle game on the blockchain that uses steem. It's still in beta now. Here is a link to the site.
https://steemmonsters.com
Awesome cheers @paradigm42 il look into it :)
It looks pretty cool so far. All you can do is purchase cards at the moment, but it is really taking off and a lot of people are posting about it around steemit.
Edit: Was a double of earlier comment.
Looks like a fun game. There was one recently, run by @spiritualmax from Crypto Empire. Sounds pretty similar.
Wish I had more time to play :D
I remember reading about that. I did not get a chance to play unfortunately..
It was a riot. Didn't know what I was doing and accidentally killed off a friend but I had a laugh playing it while it lasted. :D
Enjoy!
Yeah quite well said. Steemit gives us long-term benefits and it isn't a quick-rich scheme. Powering up is essential because our profile weight hugely depends on it :)
Thanks @pranithreddy :)
I would be powering up ;)
While steem has it's problems I think it will be around for the long term
Thanks @thevillan - yeah I plan to start powering up small ammounts.. wish I had of started sooner and spent less on upvote bots
This post is exactly what I was looking for. You explained a couple things I did not yet fully understand very good.
Thanks for the effort.
What exactly is the deal with bandwidth regarding this platform?
No problems @paparodin glad you found it useful!
The easiest way I can explain it is that your SP acts as vests in Steem, and we share the bandwidth - more vests/SP means more bandwidth limit, and thus less problems using Steemit. Bandwidth is used for things like upvoting resteeming and posting
I see, interesting.
As someone who has just started being around here, how much would you suggest would be a good starting point for investing into Steem Power?
To avoid the bandwidth error problem completly it seems around 30SP is enough @paparodin
I see. That's good to know. And not too much.
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Yes, SP gives you more influence in here. I remember when I powered up I suddenly got more 'friends' lol.
For me, Steemit is a place to offload what's in your head, share, have a bit of fun. If anyone's in here to make money or get famous, they've got a lot of work ahead of them.
:)
:D
Yeah its funny how people seem to chase those who have more SP - its the wrong way to go about things on here - Its easy to spot people who arent genuine on here and just out for a quick dollar!
Funny? Nah, it's fucking hilarious, very entertaining XD
When I first joined here I believed the hype about making money, etc. Maybe if you live in a lower-income country where the payouts really make a difference, it's worth it. Here, the posts making money are either botted or circle-jerked by accounts with high SP (also paid for with their own SP delegations). It gives the illusion of success and popularity. Smoke and mirrors.
I found a happy medium by visiting things I'm genuinely interested in such as the #needleworkmonday tag (coz I'm a crafter), other interests too, and if I find someone whose humour I vibe with, then it's all gravy.
Happy days :D
Hahaha your brilliant @anjkara.
Yeah once I realised that I wouldnt make much money on here I was settled in and having such a good time so have stayed. And when I go back to Facebook it gives me a bit of headache, all the moaning and negativity etc.
Happy days :P
Yay. Glad you're settled and having fun.
Oh FB. I hardly bother with that anymore. It's just selfie overload. Is anyone actually interested in people's selfies, really?
Here's me with a drink. Here's me wearing something. Here's me in a field. Here's me doing something dull again but pretending it's fab. Here's meeeeeeeeeeee... XD
Well written, and informative. I'm not just saying that, either. This part...
...finally makes sense of something I blogged about recently. Why my purchase orders didn't go through at a consistent speed. Now I understand more clearly (though it took too many readings before I found your explanation lol)
(edited to add) I put nearly everything I have into steem power, not because I want to influence anyone, or make money, but because I think the best chance I have of success here, is if those around me (those I choose) have more success. It's simple really. If there is an upper limit to the usefulness of steem power, I don't know about it yet.
Thanks again, and Happy Tuesday!
Thanks!
Yeah as far as I can see you can change the price if you want a quick sale or if you want a deal, but as you said this will mean the purchase order might not go through so quickly.
I have just started powering up recently (hence the post) and aim to keep around 10 - 15 sbd soare for competitions and if I want to boost any posts