Good morning Steemit,

I wanted to take a moment to talk about something that might seem insignificant to many of you, especially Dolphins and Whales that have been on the platform for a long time, but that is incredibly important to Redfish and Plankton just beginning to use this platform. And that's **how to use the tag system and why it's important**. I aim to only take a moment of your time and to summarize this as quickly and easily as I can, so let's get started.

### What is the tag system?

- The tag system is designed to describe content being posted.
- The tag system allows curators to filter content into categories for better visibility and curation.
- The tag system allows the creation of unique tags (like #incorruptiblebook) that specific content can be posted to.

### Why is proper use important for Redfish/Plankton?

- Proper use of tags prevents you from missing out on curation rewards.
	- When users are browsing a tag, if your content is mis-classified to the tag they're browsing, a curator is more likely to pass by or flag it than they are to actually read it. **Even if it's not bad content.**
- Proper use of tags allows your content to be discovered and potentially curated by the people using those tags to discover content.
- Proper use of tags allows you to connect with the communities that browse each tag, building your audience and connections with others here on Steemit.
	- This is important for the long haul, when the initial bot follow accounts start to taper off.
	- Organic connections also further increase the chances of future curation.

### How can I know what tags to use for my content?

- A good rule of thumb is to be as specific as possible.
	- Find a single over-arching category that your content fits into and then specialize:
		- #art -> #photography, #photo, #writing, #music, #drawing, #painting, #artzone, #artisteem, etc.
		- #writing -> #blog, #article, #life, #howto, #health, etc.
		- #health -> #food, #medicine, #article, #blog, #life, #writing, etc.
		- #food -> #photo, #writing, #recipe, #howto, #health, etc.
		- #travel -> #photography, #photo, #life, #blog, #writing, etc.
		- And so on.
	- Use language specific tags:
		- #kr
		- #esp
		- #fr
		- #de
		- And so on.
- If you're iffy about a tag, it's better to find a more specific one.

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That's it! Use these tips to become a #tagpro in no time!

Cheers,

~ Mako

![activeactivityadventure541520.jpg](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/makowrites/toSJZD0m-active-activity-adventure-541520.jpg)

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Thanks for reading. If you found this helpful or know a Redfish who might could benefit from this information, feel free to re-steem this post. This article was written as a part of the @tagalong initiative on educating new users about the tag system. If you appreciate these efforts, please check out the latest Tagalong informational post [here](https://steemit.com/tagalong/@tagalong/weekly-statistics-review-delegator-update).

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I've got another short-story coming soon, to finalize the Resistance Arc that I've been telling. You can read the first two parts here:
[Part 1 - Kayde's Tale](https://steemit.com/scifi/@makowrites/kayde-s-tale-malaki-anthology-7-worldbuilding-short-story)
[Part 2 - Alora's Tale](https://steemit.com/story/@makowrites/alora-s-tale-malaki-anthology-9-worldbuilding-excerpt)

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All photos courtesy of [Pexels](http://pexels.com).