There was the storm as covered by the media, and then there was the storm as covered by smartphones.

The weekend snow storm in the east was terrifying if you were stuck on the highways, but there was another side to the story. When the snow stopped, people had to get over their cabin fever.

“Stuck in my house for two days, had to come out and see what this is all about,” one man said.

So they started walking the streets and broadcasting it live on the Periscope app. People began covering events such as the huge grassroots snowball fight that developed in DuPont Circle in Washington D.C.

Related: Why West Coast should be envious of the looming East Coast blizzard

You could watch it all live thanks to fearless smartphone reporters.

At one point somebody set up a sound system and everyone started dancing. Viewers from all over the world posted comments wondering if this was some kind of bizarre American snow ritual.

And then there was the scene at the Capitol, where Congress had officially opened Capitol Hill to sledding. Smartphones showed hundreds of people on sleds, saucers, tubes, toboggans, and at least one inflatable mattress with five people on it.

It was a stunning sight to see so many Americans getting along on Capitol Hill.

And it was also encouraging to see so many people dedicated to smartphone journalism, even when it got in the way of shoveling out the car.