[Inkscape-user] getting started

Can someone on this list help me get started with Inkscape. I have release 0.43. I really like the program's drawing functionalities; however, so far I have not been able to figure out how to create and use .svg files (which I understand is the program's main file type). I draw cartoons and, no matter how good the program is, it is of no use to me if I cannot figure out how to share the stuff I create and post to websites, etc.

So far I have figured how to create a basic .svg file and also I've manage to import a .bmp into MS Powerpoint. I created the .bmp by 'exporting to .bmp'. But I cannot just 'copy and paste' images that I create into other programs. Why is this? Thank you.