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So, you've signed up and are itching to get started. The Newcomers' Achievement programme has been recommended to you so here you are, wanting to know what it's all about and here we are, ready to explain it to you.

If you haven't done so already, your first port of call should be to have a look through this collection of guides which should help you to quickly understand the Steemit environment.

The previous Newcomers' Achievement Programme had been running for 4 years and served a valuable purpose. Time has come though for an updated approach, to reflect the way Newcomers have been approaching the platform.

The aim of this certification is to help you to embed yourself within the wider community, to learn all of the ins and outs of the platform, to make friends and most importantly, to enjoy your time here.

Of course, taking part in this is completely optional.

This approach has been designed to help you to settle in and the Greeters are available to help you via the Discord channel for newcomers if you have any questions.

So where should you start?

1. 🧭 Explore

Ok, I know you're desperate to post something but the best way to get started is to see what others are up to. Explore some communities or search with some tags and see what piques your interest.

2. 🙋 Introduce Yourself

You're in the Newcomers' Community so head back to the main page, hit "New Post" and get started. Remember, you only get one "1st Post" so make sure to start off on your best foot! If you're not sure where to start, take a look at these 8 tips or the previous requirements for Achievement 1. Just remember, if you're genuine, honest and be yourself, you can't really go wrong.

3. 🤝 Welcome

You'll then be greeted by one of the Greeters Team - remember, these are users just like you, volunteering their own time so make sure that you're nice! Whilst one Greeter will welcome you, other members of the team will be available on the aforementioned Discord channel for newcomers.

Based upon your interests, our Greeter will be able to recommend some communities to you and help you to get started. This initial phase of certification will take one month (you should be given a date) and when this is up, we invite you to return to write a "Progress Report". The greeter will also give you a new label (🤝) to indicate that your certification journey's begun.

During this one month period, we'd like to see you interact with the community and learn about the platform - we've aggregated a list of useful guides filled with advice, tips, and tricks to help you. You can find the specific things that we'll be looking for in your 1st Progress Report...

4. 🥈 1st Progress Report

Please, don't use these points as a template - templates are so boring 🥱 - we're interested in hearing about your experience so far. You could use some of the following ideas as prompts...

A summary of the communities you've joined, why you've joined them, which you like the most and why.
The topics you've been writing about.
A list of key people you've interacted with. An introduction to the people who have had the biggest impact upon your experience so far (NOT an opportunity to tag whales) and the unexpected relationships that you've experienced.
Your most successful post - Why do you think it was successful?
Other observations - What have you learnt and discovered that you weren't expecting to.
Your plan and expectations for the next month on the platform (please don't mention growing your account!)

Once again, please post this in the Newcomers' Community, we'll be looking out for it.

If you've been inactive during the month or not made an effort to interact with the community (or for other reasons which will be explained to you), we'll ask you to continue interacting for a little bit longer and add a ➡️ to your label. If you've not taken note of our guidelines and decided to plagiarise or abuse the platform, we'll add a 🚩. It's worth noting that these labels grow and don't shrink so please make an effort!

We'll also speak to some of the Admins and Moderators in the communities that you've been most active in and once everybody's happy (and we're generally a happy bunch), we'll award you with a shiny medal (🥈) to reward your efforts so far and move along to the next stage (with a new date).

5. 🥇 2nd Progress Report

By this stage, you should be nicely settled and starting to understand the more nuanced parts of a Blockchain Based Social Media Platform so in this report, we'll be looking for:

An update on everything you shared in your 1st Progress Report. A lot can change in a month, new communities, new relationships - we'd like to hear about it.
Witness Voting - Who have you voted for and what made you choose those particular witnesses?
Withdrawals - Whilst we like people to keep powering up, we'd also like to know that you've learned how to make a withdrawal. Just a small one will do - the more power you have, the better!
Tools - We've introduced you to some useful tools and websites to help you gain knowledge and we'd like you to share your experience with us. Did any stand out as being particularly useful? If so, why? And if you could create or improve any of the available tools, what would you change?

You'll also be at the point in your journey where you should know as much (if not more) than us, so tell us about it.

All being well, this is the point at which you're officially, no longer a Newcomer and are ready to spread your wings. We'll update your label with another medal (🥇) and set you free.

As with your 1st progress report, we might extend your stay (➡️) and even after you've fled the nest, any misdemeanours and the 🚩 is only an update away.

It can be hard joining a new Social Media platform - a new community with all of our existing relationships. But if you put enjoyment before rewards, be honest and be yourself, then a fun, exciting and rewarding journey awaits you.