Definitely invest in Ripple for long term..
You will get a higher return on investment, in technological terms Ripple is better than any other altcoin, many banks are testing Ripple technology.
It sure is a strong altcoin, and should be viewed as a long term investment!

Try checking different official websites related to Bitcoin and Altcoins.
You can also use Twitter for news and updates.
But what i have found very useful and practical was the use of Telegram groups and Channels to keep me up to date with anything to do with Cryptoworld.
You can learn anything, just ask!

Yes, invest in Altcoins, why not?!
There are Altcoins that are better than others, the cryptoworld is full of risks and you must take risks to see results, whether positive ones or negative ones, this is a fact!!
Top Altcoins from a general stand point, would be Ethereum, NEO, Lite, Waves and Ripple.
Any of these would be profitable, short term and long term!

I've participated in programs for a few ICO's in the passed year, some have "seemed" promising others were simply scams and thankfully i pulled out before it was too late.

I would suggest looking into the NEW ICO called trade.io.
trade.io is an innovative new blockchain trading platform that will disrupt the financial ecosystem and democratize the markets.
They use peer-to-peer platforms to support the trading of a wide range of assets, and will be launching their own cryptocurrency, the Trade Token, which you can now acquire via PRE-ICO.
They currently have a bounty program available which has attracted many users in this community. Airdrop also available if you join the TradeToken telegram group!!!
Bounty Program here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663A
ANN Thread here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2367245.0

It has been the most solid ICO i've come across in the passed year! Be sure to check it out.

I would like to share with you an ICO that is currently in PRE-ICO.
trade.io is an innovative new blockchain trading platform that will disrupt the financial ecosystem and democratize the markets.
They use peer-to-peer platforms to support the trading of a wide range of assets, and will be launching our own cryptocurrency, the Trade Token, which you can now acquire via PRE-ICO.
You can participate in the Bounty program here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663
and join the telegram group for AIRDROPS!!! Feel free to ask any of our Devs for more information regarding this revolutionary trading platform.

I would recommend Ethereum, NEO and Ripple because i've found them to be reliable and stable in comparison to other coins.
I would not recommend buying anything that is below coinmarketcap's top10 list. You will simply lose because they are volatile.
If you want to be sure in what you invest, Bitcoin is actually looking very promising as it stands now. Bitcoin is the most solid coin of all atm, and as seen in the passed few months, it's probably the safest coin to invest in.
Remember that if you invest big, the risk is higher. So make sure you start small and gradually increase from there.

For the newbies that don't know what Airdrop is...Airdrop means a coin/token is distributed to the community for free or for small tasks. This is done to ensure early distribution and to have as many followers as possible.

I wanted to let the community know that you can join the trade.io Bounty program below...
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663.0
trade.io is an innovative new blockchain trading platform that will disrupt the financial ecosystem and democratize the markets.
We use peer-to-peer platforms to support the trading of a wide range of assets, and will be launching our own cryptocurrency, the Trade Token, which you can now acquire via PRE-ICO.

and by joining the Telegram group you will collect Airdrop too. So feel free to participate in that.

My top 3 altcoins would be as follows:

Ethereum, Ripple and NEO

I invested in these and hodling because i've seen positive results all these years. There have been ups and downs ofcourse, but they tend to recover in little time proving to be less volatile and more stable than other altcoins.

Anyone can invest in these altcoins, and see positive results too. Do your research!

"There is always a bigger fish".

Whether you choose to mine Ethereum or Bitcoin, it will be difficult due to the amount of large corporations involved in doing the same thing. Everyone wants a piece of it. Definitely a competitive game the mining procedure.

If you can, then mine both. Just don't expect the same results that others get. I will always tend to go by the saying "There is always a bigger fish".

Most of us are in it for the money, I would like to invest in something that is going to actually work, something that is real and most definitely achievable.

I read in a post somewhere that some ICO's are simply shitty dreams about changing the world in one way or another, those are the ICO's are try to avoid and most probably are a scam.

Look into trade.io an innovative new blockchain trading platform that will disrupt the financial ecosystem and democratize the markets. Currently at PRE-ICO and is sharing with the community a Bounty program, you can also collect Airdrops.
Be sure to check it out in the following link...https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663.0

I believe it's too soon to make any remarks as to what will the Best Coin be in 2018. We are still 1 month away and we saw what happened in just 1 week with Bitcoin and sewgit2x. Bitcoin was skyrocketing to $7900 and then sewgit cancelled. Now Bitcoin is at $6200 which goes to show that anything can happen!

But, I would like to see ETH in my top coin of the new year. Ethereum is showing strength even in these times!

I liked the term fluctuate, it is true though. Altcoins tend to fluctuate on a daily basis, and it's all due to forks happening more often and Bitcoin. It's all a chain reaction. One goes down, the other goes up.
It can be frustrating at times. But this is how things go in the crypto world.
Best thing to do is be patient, hodl onto your investments that you thought were good and wait for the storm to pass!

Trading is profitable if you know the game! Investing everything in one thing is wrong imo. If you do so, then the risk is greater, so having said this, it would be wiser if you share your investments and minimise the risk effect.
The risk is everywhere though, whether your investing in an ICO or if your trading Bitcoin and Altcoins.

I would recommend doing both, trading is good now, especially with segwit out of the way. Investing in ICO's is also profitable, start with joining a bounty program and collect Airdrops from these programs to start you off.
How about checking trade.io here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663.0

Your main goal should be to study whatever it is your getting yourself into, and be cautious of the scams that exist in the cryptoworld, because everyone is out there to make money.

It's unlikely BCC will replace BTC, even though it seems to be doing quite Ok lately. Thats all due to segwit cancellation.
The rise of BCC is simply a pump and dump strategy imo. Alot has happened in the passed few days within the cryptoworld, and i believe many have mixed feelings about BTC, so maybe it would be best if you waited till next month when the smoke clears.
I wont invest in BCC just yet, till everything is more clearer! I am happy with Bitcoin thank you very much.

We all want huge profits and that's quite difficult nowadays.
I would invest in Bitcoin mostly, but since your question is about Altcoins, then i would say look into investing in Ethereum since its stable enough and there are less chances of loss.
It goes without say, you need to do research and look into any coin your investing in.

Investing in simply any altcoin would be unwise, so check the values of each coin and see each ones progress firstly.
Investing in Bitcoin with lets say $50 and looking for 2 other altcoins like Ethereum or Waves or Ripple. These coins have potential, and are less volatile than others.
Whatever the case do not make any rushed decisions and feel free to ask a more experienced trader or investor for information and advice.

As we speak every coin is on the rise and so is the Ethereum. Currently, Ethereum is number 2 out of all the cryptocurrencies and still hodling strong. But it still has a long way to go to be AS GOOD as Bitcoin. The good thing is that Ethereum has potential to increase value, and we saw a small example of that after the segwit2x cancellation.
So, IMO it is a good alt, and i recommend investments in this altcoin, especially for long term investments.

I would like to share with you an ICO that is currently in PRE-ICO.
trade.io is an innovative new blockchain trading platform that will disrupt the financial ecosystem and democratize the markets.
We use peer-to-peer platforms to support the trading of a wide range of assets, and will be launching our own cryptocurrency, the Trade Token, which you can now acquire via PRE-ICO.
You can participate in the Bounty program here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663
and join the telegram group for AIRDROPS!!! Feel free to ask any of our Devs for more information regarding this revolutionary trading platform.

For this week and the previous, I would suggest looking into the NEW ICO called trade.io.
trade.io is an innovative new blockchain trading platform that will disrupt the financial ecosystem and democratize the markets.
We use peer-to-peer platforms to support the trading of a wide range of assets, and will be launching our own cryptocurrency, the Trade Token, which you can now acquire via PRE-ICO.
They currently have a bounty program available which has attracted many users in this community. Airdrop also available!!!
Bounty Program here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2370663A
ANN Thread here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2367245.0

This is a good platform for finding ICO's and the different details behind each one.
It's important to keep track of the different ICO's progress!
Maybe create a refresh time that will keep us up to date constantly, instead of us having to refresh manually?
Other than that, very nice!