Here's a book I have by FB... calling it speed picking is just a sales tactic really. He also referred to it as sweep picking, but mostly speed apparently. And of course everyone in those days would argue over what he does or doesn't do and who calls what etc... well I met him in Modesto in the 90's and told him what I do and he said that is what he does as well, so that was cool to hear it from his own mouth... and yet I probably picked up this book after that to check it out and if you look through it he has an exercise that skips over a string to create a sweep that I would not do, so not sure why he would do it unless he was just trying to create something with more sweepy movements in it, so I lost interest in it as soon as I saw it. I almost always start on a down stroke but would 99.9% never skip a string to make something happen, if my hand is moving that way I hit it.
And then of course I have an Al Dimeola video where he trashes this kind of picking as a fad that will fade away, and literally the very next exercise he does he states that it's impossible to alternate it so he sweeps a couple strings to make it work.
Crazy how people don't just let somebody be themselves.
PS.... then there's the Yngwie video that states that he uses a variety of picking techniques and they're
none of your business LOLOL