> If the data has no need to be real-time then why stream it? As I get it, it's basically a way to keep request rates low. Rather than every client polling yo

> If the data has no need to be real-time then why stream it? As I get it, it's basically a way to keep request rates low. Rather than every client polling your server every minute (which can be quite heavy), only one (Heartbeat) does, and the rest just subscribe to Heartbeat streams. Totally makes sense if you haven't planned a pubsub-based API but notice that your RESTful one is close to being hammered into a pulp - so you need something to give to your clients, fast. But I don't think it make much sense as a long-term solution.