Millions Tap Into Periscope, Facebook Streams of House Sit-In

Turns out, the Congressional gun control sit-in was a huge boon for Facebook Live and Periscope.

In a post Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 19 members of Congress used the social network's live-streaming feature to broadcast the sit-in, which ended today after 26 hours. As of 10 a.m. ET, less than 24 hours after the start of the sit-in, the streams together had racked up more than 3 million views — a number that is still growing, Zuckerberg said.

Periscope did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but broadcasts on Twitter's platform were viewed more than 1 million times yesterday, according to The Verge.

"We may not have Chewbaca [sic], but we have democracy," Periscope CEO Kayvon Beykpour tweeted yesterday, referencing the viral Chewbacca mom video.

The sit-in began around 11:30 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, shortly after the House entered a recess and official cameras were turned off. That's when members of Congress decided to broadcast live on Facebook and Periscope to keep citizens in the loop about what was happening.

Technically, House and Senate rules prohibit shooting live video in the chambers; C-SPAN uses feeds from the official cameras that record proceedings when either house of Congress is in session. Once the official cameras went dark, C-SPAN alternated between on-air broadcasts of Periscope and Facebook Live videos from Reps. Beto O'Rourke and Scott Peters, among others.

"If they will turn the cameras on, we will turn our cameras off." #TurnOnTheCameras — Rep. Scott Peters (@RepScottPeters) June 23, 2016

In his post today, Zuckerberg said the streams are "bringing more openness to the political process," he wrote. "Live is unfiltered and real… And it's bringing us moments we wouldn't see otherwise — from birthday parties … to late-night sessions in the United States Capitol."

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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