Still Confused by Steem, Steem Dollars, and Steem Power?

Welcome to all of our new users! Like most people who discover Steemit, you’re probably wondering about the currency tokens: STEEM, Steem Dollars, and Steem Power. Why do we need three of them? How are theydifferent?
When will I get paid? These questions are understandable, but they focus on the pieces. What we really need is a 200-foot view.Let’s power up the droneThe basics of Steemit are easy tounderstand: you make money by posting and voting on good content. But as you get hooked on the great articles and moneymaking potential, you’ll want to understand how it really works. Steemit and the Steem economy are a complex system with lots of moving parts, so you’re in for quite an education.If you try to understand the each part of Steemit, you’ll get there eventually. But I think there’s an easier way to begin.
Turn on that monitor, please, and I’ll take the drone over STEEM CENTRAL, our main power plant. When you see the whole platform functioning, I think you’ll have a better understanding of the parts themselves and the roles they play.It's an imperfect analogy, to be sure, but a helpful one also!

What Powers Steemit?
What powers Steemit?

The blockchain spins the gears.
Witnesses keep it honest. Developers enable the Steemit social media platform and the payment systems with which we interact. Average people like us provide the content that gives thesite its chief value. And we curateit, too, deciding which content is rewarded. Everybody tells their friends about it.Put that together and what does it give you?
Holy guacamole! If a holistic whole is what you want, here is a model for you. We can compare Steemit to a conventional thermalsteam electric power plant. Steam power, get it? Wink, wink. Change the ‘a’ to an ‘e’. But beforewe go there, I need to explain how a normal steam power plant works.By then, our drone should be in position.
Steam Power PlantsThermal steam power plants are used to generate power from coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal, waste incineration, and many natural gas sources. Though there are many variations, these plants basically turn heat energy into electricity. This basic model forms the bones for much of the world’s energy generation.
Here is a picture of a geothermal power plant in Iceland, which uses steam to convert heat from the earth into electricity. Don’t worry about pollution; there isn't much of that. It is just releasing extra steam into the air. This is a very renewable and sustainable energy source.