Voting Power & Steem Power

Many a minnow swims into the Steemit stream confused and confounded by the basic economy. What is this Steem Power?How does this relate to voting and vote port? Why can I run out of it? I just came on here to blog! Please just let me blog! Below, I've tried to list out a fitting metaphor for how this all works and how to make the best of each value type.

So, the metaphor I'm using is going to build off a previous one I wrote about in which Steem Power is equivalent to an investment account. Within your investment account, Voting Power is allotted amount of trades. Ideally, you will then easily see how Voting Power and Steem Power interact within Steemit.

STEEM POWER

So, to reiterate my old metaphor, Steem Power is like you placing your money in an investment bank - think E*Trade, Edward Jones, Robinhoob, etc. Within that investment account, you are literally investing in the future of Steemit. You increase your SP to improve how much your vote pays to the author and how much you get back in curation rewards. Think of curation rewards as dividends from the Steem Economy. Steem Power is how much you can invest in the platform.

VOTING POWER

So, voting power is a function of two things within your investment account. First, it is a function of how much money you have in your account. Second, it is a function of how many trades (or votes) you make. So, it is the amount of trades or votes you can make given the amount of Steem Power, or investment money, you have available. The more money, the more powerful your vote, and the more power your investment. The Steem Network tries to approximate your average voting rate with a moving avaerage such that your voting power on any given post is approximately:

SteemPower / VotesPerDay

So, this means, on a busy day on Steemit, you can vote until you run out of Steem Power to invest. Don't worry though, voting power regenerates 20% per day. This means, you can consistently have near 100% voting power by using your voting power wisely. Also, if you don't vote for a day, Steemit will reset its moving average to the default, which is 20 votes.

Example:

10 dollars in your investment account,

You want to make 10 trades.

Each trade would be worth $1.

This means, if you have 10 Steem Power, and make roughly 10 votes a day, Steemit will try to make sure each is roughly worth $1. And every day, your account will refresh 20%, or 2 Steem Power for new votes.

Earning Steem Power

Remember, Steem Power is an investment. You can earn more, and increase your Voting Power by posting and voting. Half of all content and curation rewards are paid out as Steem Power. So, remember to invest wisely with great comments and upvoting amazing content. This will allow you to grow your investment, your influence, and your voting power. So, like an investment account, you can make bigger bets on better writers and help increase the value of Steemit as a platform.

How do I find out what my vote is worth?

Check out this Handy Tool written by @mauricemikkers
http://www.steemdollar.com/dollar_per_vote.php?name=<insert_your_username_here>

How do I find my Voting Power?

https://steemdb.com/@<insert_your_username_here>
https://steemd.com/@<insert_your_username_here>

SUMMARY

So, if Steem Power is how much money you have in your investment account. Voting Power is how many trades you can make in a day, and how much each one is worth. Hoepfully, this metaphor can help you better understand how the Steemit economy works and how to use your Voting Power wisely! Remember, you are an investor, and you are trying to reward and encourage amazing Steemians.

New To Steemit? Check out the Minnow Support Project

The Minnow Support Project is a 3000+ strong community of Minnows. It was created by @aggroed and is sponsored by people like @ausbitbank, @canadian-coconut, @teamsteem, @neoxian, @someguy123 and @theprophet0 to be a community of Steemians that wish to help each other grow. We advocate the sharing of great content to help increase your audience as a minnow. We also help with basic questions, guidance and general Steemit camaraderie. I recommend checking out the topic or the step-by-step starter guide created by @discordiant

Join the Discord chat room here: https://discord.gg/HYj4yvw

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Voting Power & Steem Power - A Metaphor