While the LittleSis website is a useful tool for researchers, academics, journalists, and activists to explore and map networks of powerful people and organizations, our data is available for anyone to use for free under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license. This means that anyone can use the data in our database for whatever they …
Littlesis Analysts
Join a LittleSis training!
Look familiar? You can now join a free online training to get over the hump and start using LittleSis for your power research! The real value of LittleSis is that anyone can edit and add data to keep the information accurate, current, and most importantly, growing. The more that our community of researchers, journalists, academics, …
LittleSis is here to help!
We are excited to roll out a new, comprehensive help center to guide our users as they add, edit and analyze data on LittleSis. We have added lots of documentation, as well as a simple layout and a search bar that makes it quick and easy for beginner and advanced analysts to find the information …
The Bubble Baron Network
The LittleSis.org/AlterNet citizens’ investigation of the Bubble Barons concluded last night, after a month of digging deep on the super-wealthy individuals who benefit most from our bubble economy. Thanks to all who participated! I am currently working on a final piece on the investigation and our findings. In the meantime, to give you an idea …
Digging Deep on a Private Equity Duo
Stephen Schwarzman and David Rubenstein are co-founders of two of the largest private equity firms in the world, the Blackstone Group and the Carlyle Group. Both are under investigation by the bubble baron research group, with seanhartnett and Dan doing a tremendous job researching their networks and following their money. As it turns out, Schwarzman …
How to Research the Bubble Barons’ Charitable Contributions
One of the major objectives of the bubble barons investigation is to figure out where, exactly, all that money is going. Where are these billionaires investing their money? Which politicians do they support? Which charities benefit from their largess? Today, I’m going to go over strategies for researching charitable contributions, and I’ll use my bubble …
What Makes Someone a Bubble Baron?
The Bubble Barons investigation launched last week by AlterNet and LittleSis.org has gotten off to a fast start, with over 250 citizen journalists signed up to track down information on the 67 bubble barons we’ve identified. In less than a week, the research group has made over 500 edits to the LittleSis database, building out …
New Investigation: Exposing the Bubble Barons
Today, in partnership with AlterNet, we are launching a new investigation of the class of American super-rich we’ve deemed the Bubble Barons, “a select group of American multi-billionaires who saw astronomic gains in wealth during the housing bubble, and who so far have evaded all accountability in the midst of the worst economic crisis since …
Analyst roundup
A brief roundup of what’s going on around LittleSis.org today… * Inside the Obama White House. Priscilla, destructor & co continue to power through the Obama White House visitors list, which now includes over 150 visitors to top White House officials. Goldman Sachs has ties to more visitors than any other business, according to our …
Time, talent, and treasure at the American Museum of Natural History
We are going to begin opening up the blog to LittleSis analysts over the next few months in order to offer more of a platform for their work and analysis and showcase the many ways in which the site is used. If you are an analyst and are interested in contributing, please drop Kevin a …
Project update: over 100 White House visitors profiled
Last Thursday, inspired by the release of White House visitor logs, we launched a new project to compile information on visitors to the Obama White House. In less than a week, analysts Priscilla, sundin, ellenp, and destructor have built and updated profiles for over 100 individuals who have met with the president or one of …
New project: Tracking Obama insiders
It’s been almost one year since Obama’s inauguration — and one year since LittleSis launched. At this time last year we were scrambling to add up-to-date data about the past two presidential administrations, and the incoming one, in preparation for launch. We built lists like this, this, and this (with lots of help from our …