RE: 5 New User Questions I'm Too Embarrassed to Ask, but Asking Anyways
I'm no expert, but I can help with a couple of these.
Can't help too much here.
The dollar amount is the amount of your payout in USD. The post doesn't actually pay out in dollars, it pays some in Steem, some in Steem Power, and some in Steem backed Dollars. It's actually 3 different things. Steem and Steem Dollars (SBD) are liquid, but Steem Power takes a while to withdraw (Power Down) into Steem.
As far as I can tell, the payouts are weighted system wide. The amount at the bottom reflects how much you can expect to earn, probably. Also, if someone down votes your post it will go down, especially if it's a whale account.
You have to sell the Steem or SBD for another currency. The easiest way to do this is to send the tokens to an exchange, like Poloniex or Bitrex and sell them for Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ether. Then, send your Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ether to Coinbase and sell for USD$$. There are also some Visa cards that allow you to load different coins and spend wherever they take Visa, but I don't have one, so can't vouch.
Voting on a comment pays the commentor. If you vote your own comment, you pay yourself. You can only do this so many times a day, though. (I think)
Good Steeming!
I appreciate your help!
So, why would someone downvote my post? What is a whale account?
Everything else makes sense. Would it be ok if I follow you? Definitely hoping for a follow back, as well? ;)
No problem. Anyone can downvote any post, so sometimes it happens. Sometimes people don't like what you have to say. Not often, though.
A Whale is an account with a whole lot of Steem Power. The more Steem Power you have, the more weight your vote has, and the more it pays when you upvote.
You can sure follow me! I've followed you.
That makes sense. Thanks again for your help. I am following ya!