Hi @themerge Your reputation starts at 25. You are at 29. The way it works; is that people with higher reputation when they upvote your post the reputation increases. It is saying people with more experience or more knowledge feel your content is good. Reputations go as high as 80. The higher the reputation, that means people trust you or think your content is really good. It is important because people see that right after your username.

When people upvote you depended how much Steem power they have you will receive Steem. The more steem power they have they more steem you get when they upvote your posts. Meaning simply the more people have the more their votes translate into more money for you if they vote for your posts.