Circle of Influence is a platform, built from the ground up to enable the average American citizen to browse, visualize, and understand politics in the way it is most accurately expressed: data.

1. I’m here to talk about money
in politics.

3. Question: Do you vote?

4. Do you know who pays for the
campaigns you vote for?

5. The Opportunity

6. The Opportunity
Federal law requires many different kinds of political
transparency data to be made available to the public.

7. The Opportunity
Federal law requires many different kinds of political
transparency data to be made available to the public.
Usually, anyone can download it in bulk for free.

8. The Opportunity

9. The Opportunity
Campaign contributions & lobbying
Bills, amendments, committees and votes
Earmarks & federal contracts
Every word said on the floor of the House or Senate
Every visitor to the White House

10. So why don’t you know who
paid for those campaigns?

11. Problem 1: It’s not accessible

12. Problem 1: It’s not accessible
Bulk data is available in structured formats that make it easy for
computers to read, but humans aren’t computers

13. Problem 1: It’s not accessible
Bulk data is available in structured formats that make it easy for
computers to read, but humans aren’t computers
Best-in-class transparency websites like OpenSecrets and
GovTrack are largely unknown

14. Problem 1: It’s not accessible
Bulk data is available in structured formats that make it easy for
computers to read, but humans aren’t computers
Best-in-class transparency websites like OpenSecrets and
GovTrack are largely unknown
Data is spread across different sites in different languages and
formats, using different terminology

15. Problem 1: It’s not accessible

16. Problem 1: It’s not accessible
Campaign contributions & lobbying
Bills, amendments, committees and votes
Earmarks & federal contracts
Speeches made on the floor of the House or Senate
Every visitor to the White House

17. Problem 2: It’s opaque

18. Problem 2: It’s opaque
First Name Last Name District State
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

19. Problem 2: It’s opaque
First Name Last Name District State
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

20. Problem 2: It’s opaque
First Name Last Name District State
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

21. CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE
EARLY PREVIEW

22. The Idea
Combine data sources into one universal database

23. The Idea
Combine data sources into one universal database
Source Data

24. The Idea
Translate into one universal format
Source Data

25. The Idea
Draw connections + link data into a graph

26. The Idea
You can still have your tables & charts
First Name Last Name District State
1
2
)
3
4
5
6
7
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9

27. The Idea
But what if you kept it as a graph?

28. COI Maps the US Senate

30. Senators
HARRY REID
CHRIS DODD
JOHN KERRY
TED KENNEDY
BARBARA BOXER

31. Non-Profits/Institutions
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
HARVARD UNIV.
MOVE ON .ORG
ACT BLUE
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV.

32. Defense/Aerospace
BOEING
LOCKHEED MARTIN
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
RAYTHEON

33. KINDRED HUMANA Healthcare
AETNA
BLUE CROSS / BLUE SHIELD

34. WELLS FARGO
MORGAN STANLEY
Wall Street
BEAR STEARNS JPMORGAN / CHASE
BANK OF AMERICA
A.I.G.
CITIGROUP INC.
MERRILL LYNCH
GOLDMAN SACHS
CAPITAL ONE
PRUDENTIAL
FIDELITY FINANCIAL

36. COI Maps the US Senate

37. COI Maps the US Senate
1. GOLDMAN SACHS
2. CITIGROUP INC.
3. BLUE CROSS/BLUE SHIELD

38. COI Maps the US Senate

39. COI Maps the US Senate
1. LEHMAN BROTHERS
2. BEAR STEARNS
3. MERRILL LYNCH

40. How might history have changed if
Lehman Brothers had been a top
contributor?

41. Is it important to know about these
connections?

42. Thanks for watching.