Well, I guess I'm pretty much all in now. Oh boy, I can't believe I just transferred 4400 steem to my account. That's pretty much all my precious money in the whole, wide world. Ayayay. Grandma would not approve, that's for sure. I should say that I am not planning on making this blog a ##steemFTW / ##getRichorDie / ##brutalcashROOAAAAR kind of blog. This is simply a milestone worthy of mention for my still very young steemit user, which I have hopelessly ambitious plans for. One day I want to be able to make a living off of steemit!
This guy appeared right after. Must be a real sucker for steem! Gave him a whack.
I mean, the potential for steemit is just WOOOOW. You better believe it, Grandma! I would never have done this ludicrous thing otherwise. The idea of having almost all of the money going back to the users - handed out by the users - is nothing short of genius. If you make great content, someone will notice you and have the power to reward you for the value you have provided them. It's democracy 2.0! And due to the recent hardfork, steemit has never been more user friendly to those of us who are just getting started. It's all about power to the community!
Ok. So how did I go about getting steem? While there are definitely faster methods out there, the approach I ended up taking is at the very least cheaper than buying directly from steemit.com. First thing you need is some bitcoin; the go-to currency for buying and selling all types of cryptocurrency. I got mine at Localbitcoins, where you choose one particular seller and his price. This way you can get some of the cheapest bitcoin out there. You then contact him, and follow the instructions attached to the payment method, e.g. national bank transfer. It is not at all fast, but as said, you may be able to find a good price for your money.
You then need to set up an account on any of the crypto markets that allow for trading between bitcoin and steem. I decided on Bittrex, which I found to be very user friendly. But most important is the fact that on Bittrex, account verification is very easy, and you can quickly upgrade your withdrawal limit. For this, you need to upload ID and have Google Authenticator on you mobile device for 2FA(Two-factor authentication).
Once you've received your bitcoin, it's time to begin the nerve-racking transfers.
First is from LocalBTC to Bittrex. You need to know the wallet address you are sending to. To find out, log into Bittrex and click "wallet". Then click the "+" next to "Bitcoin". 
Then you have to click "generate address", after which your screen should look like this, but with your own unique address.
Copy the address, and head over to LocalBTC. Go to "wallet" and paste the address in the correct text box. Enter the amount you wish to send and click "continue". Make sure your address is correct! You don't want to risk losing your BTC.
After you have bought steem at a price you're content with, you're ready for the last transaction. Now you also need a receiving address of sorts, namely your "Memo Key". It can be found in your steemit "wallet" --> "permissions". Copy the key.
To initiate the transfer from your Bittrex account, click the "-" next to "Steem". This window should now pop up.
Paste the "memo key" in the upper box. Then type your steemit account name in the second box. Lastly, decide the amount of steem you want to send. Double check your Memo KEY! I myself had to start off with a test, just to be sure it worked.
Unlike Bitcoin, Steem is sent in just seconds! You should almost instantly get notified about the transaction.
All this took me quite some time to figure out. My way is of course not the only one, but if you happen to be new to the cryptoverse, then this is a very concrete approach; comparatively cheap, but slow.
As to my own steem, I haven't decided whether I should power up or not. Right now it's just sitting tight in my account. All in all I am simply happy I took the decision which I see giving my life in a new direction. This is definitely my last post about any cryptocurrency for a very long time. The whole affair has made me tense up way more than I'm comfortable with.
Wise move my friend, now what you wanna do is power up and start voting yourself ;)
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@markwhittam You are joking right? Voting for yourself creates a sad and selfish world.
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Errrrm do you never upvote your own content?
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Upvoting your own posts is okay, but not your comments, I think. But the way you put it made it sound selfish. I believe in solidarity and sharing. I apologize if I misinterpreted your comment.
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Ok, I was joking when I wrote the original comment which is obvious by the winking smiley face, but after reading your reaction I thought to my myself "wait a minute" is it that bad to vote yourself, I don't do it all the time, if you check my last post I must have written 60 comments and did not vote one of them, but every now and again it's nice to give yourself a pat on the back. I mean if you had a business you would pay yourself right?
I'm not saying steemit is a business, but it is an investment of both time and money, so yeah voting yourself is totally acceptable in my eyes.
Try it, you might like it :)
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There is definitely some controversy surrounding the "upvoting oneself" question. I think it is currently just as it should be, and that it won't change in a wee long while (if ever). I mean, you CAN ACTUALLY LIKE what who have written. I usually do. And it's not worth heaps either, it just feels good to be able to give yourself some reward. Plus, it's the #1 reason there are whales on this site (besides having steem as a sheer investment). Having bought steem and invested long-term by powering up should grant you some benefits.
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Power up!
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I'm thinking so hard about this now!
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Do it. you know you want to! UNLIMITED POWER!!!!
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in my opinion, you've just made a very intelligent investment. I've been thinking about Steemit and its future the past few days and I think Steemit is a unique solution in the world. I consider Steem to be a "social currency" in that it is backed by real people and the value of their thoughts, ideas and attention and this is what gives it immense value. I also think it will be easier for people to adopt Steem as a currency because it is so social. imagine Steemit with the reach and popularity of Facebook. everyone will have to know about Steem and use it then. that's big.
Steemit is infiltrating social networks, information markets, entertainment markets... I think it's a very good product with lots of potential.
I'm with Steemit for the long haul!! Great to know you're in this with us!
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Steemit to win it, that's for sure! You are right on point! This is one of the more approachable cryptos, being centered around people and all. Although, it could be the beginning of the social-totalitarian world we see in "nosedive", E1:S3 from the Black Mirror Netflix series? :P Naaa, probably not xD
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This is an excellent "How To" post and your steps are well described for most anyone to be able to follow.
I really like being able to support people who take the time to make the daunting world of cryptocurrency buying and trading accessible to more people.
Good luck and looking forward to your next post :)
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Thank you!
Yes, I was certain I would get lost in the crypto maze at some point! Now it's all cake though. The hardest thing about this(like in most areas) is just getting established and getting all you need, like wallets, accounts, basic information etc. Right now, it's a bit too much to get going for most people.
I have found that a great way to get your friends into crypto is just giving them some! Then they start paying attention.
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Right on, you've got the right idea, and I agree the learning curve is so steep at first if you want to do more than say, hold a little BTC in an online wallet and make a few purchases - most people are too busy and distracted to get started.
But, you hit the nail on the head there, give them a little cryptocoin to get them going and they'll have more of a vested interest, and those who are curios by nature will be hooked in no time!
Anyway, I can see we're on a similar trajectory here and facing similar challenges, so I'll be sure to pay attention to your content and add my minnow's 2 cents along the way :D
Cheers mate!
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Congratukations. You made the right decision. Everybody wanted to invest money in the platform but all were not given a chance due non-availability of funds.
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Wow 4400 Steem is a quite a lot. I bought my first 150 Steem today. It does feel great to have a bit more voting power :). You still haven't converted your Steem to SP. Will you be converting it?
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Congrats on buying steem. It felt kind of good to see it reach my account, although slightly terrifying.
I'm not sure about powering up, at least not all of it. I was thinking about starting with a smaller amount, just to see how much it would impact my vote. Probably what's gonna happen is i'm gonna want to fill it all up when I see the results xD
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yeah i noticed that too.
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Useful thanks. And looks like you picked a good day for it (or do we have you to thank for that uptick this morning)!
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HAHA! I would like to think that! Sure, it was heartening to see. Though the price now is not the most important thing, except within a bubbly time frame. In five to ten years time, my friend, steemit will be the hottest thing out there. We are lucky we got to start early.
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