An aggregator filters through the tons of content produced on the web and brings it together for you. Aggregators are the first line of defense against the white noise of the internet. They are helpful, but usually aren't very smart. If you are curating a list on tablet pc technology then the aggregator would probably also return results from archeology stories about stone tablets being discovered and similar uses of the word.

There are several ways to aggregate content. Paid services like GigaAlert and free services like Google Alert automatically track and monitor the web and alert you when something new has been posted that matches your search criteria. Most websites and blogs have RSS and Atom feeds, and you can use RSS readers, Google Reader, or most email clients to read posts from the site when they are updated. There are even social media aggregators that monitor Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Some content curation tools have built in aggregators (more on this in the next task). In addition to Google News, there are also many curated lists of news aggregators and tools.

Where will most of your content come from: news sites, blogs, content producer's websites, social media, academic journal databases?