Is Steemit The New Reddit, The New Medium, Or Something Else

Is it a rabbit, a duck, or some kind of hybrid?

At first blush, I believed steemit was meant to be a "new and improved" version of reddit. Upvotes, karma in the form of steem, tons of posts consisting of memes or links to popular articles - it all screamed "reddit" to me.

After spending a bit more time here, however, I noticed that the a lot of the more popular and upvoted content could, in fact, be accurately referred to as stories. I read posts by individuals describing themselves and their journeys, their families and their personal lives, their experiences at steemit and elsewhere. Once I saw a reference to medium.com, it struck me that the minimalist layout and structure of steemit was, indeed, much like medium. Even the suggestive "Submit a Story" link in the corner intimated that it might have been a model for this new social platform.

But hold on a minute, why would anyone be interested in a site that treated memes, articles, stories, and food pics equally? I'm guessing that the creators of steem are hoping that the community will decide what direction the project goes in. For now, I'm still trudging through the shitposts and well written pieces, doing my best to contribute by reading and upvoting the entries I believe are making a positive contribution, and hoping a clear path resolves itself soon for steemit so I can have yet another online distraction vying for my time.