Earlier today, Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives voiced their protest over not being able to vote on gun control legislation. Presiding Congressman Ted Poe (R-Texas) quickly called for a recess and ordered video cameras in the chamber to be turned off in the hopes of quelling the protest. It didn't.
Today's event is likely an example of what social media networks like Twitter have been talking about for so many quarters - that they're places for live events and conversations to take place. Realizing that the cameras had been turned off, congressional Democrats seemed to understand that they had the next best thing: a way to broadcast their protest using just their mobile device.
On the House floor, Congressman Scott Peters (D-California) remarked that as the cameras in the chamber were turned off, Democrats found a camera using another app: “Today, I discovered Periscope.”
I'm on the House floor with @repjohnlewis & Dems staging a sit-in to demand action on commonsense gun legislation http://pic.twitter.com/byIivby5gG
- Rep. John Yarmuth (@RepJohnYarmuth) June 22, 2016
Twitter-owned Periscope and Facebook have played a big part in helping democrats get the word out about their protest. These tools have given the congressmen the ability to reach their constituents and control the message of their protest in an event that isn't very common in the House.
“Today is an example of what drives us,” said Periscope chief executive Kayvon Beykpour in a statement to VentureBeat. “Twitter and Periscope take you where other cameras don't - letting you experience breaking news through the eyes of those living it.”
Periscope marked the protest by creating a dedicated channel people could use to follow the #NoBillNoBreak event as it unfurls.
We are united! Democrats sit-in for an end to gun violence! #NoBillNoBreak http://pic.twitter.com/l2WtTmUToS
- Brenda Lawrence (@RepLawrence) June 22, 2016
While House Republicans may have thought that disabling C-SPAN's broadcast of the protest may have solved things, all evidence to the contrary as quite a few Democrats have been sharing what they're doing and broadcasting live right from the floor in media that more people, especially young Americans are using.
Both Facebook and Twitter are pretty much locked in a battle over live events, with the former putting forth lots of resources to show it's the top dog. However, Twitter isn't backing down and has made it a mission to show that this vision can help grow its service - the company's CEO Jack Dorsey has refuted Facebook's efforts, saying that Twitter has been doing “it for 10 years.”
House Democrats turn to Periscope, Facebook to broadcast historic gun control sit-in
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