Just about everyone in the news industry is looking for "new patterns for the future of news".

It seems pretty certain that social networks will play an even more important role in defining the new ways users will consume the news, as will personalization.

Betting on this comes the new platform launched by the Washington Post: Trove, a free news aggregation website which allows users to get a personalized information.

The Washington Post anticipated its launch last February.

As TechCrunch reported, it combines algorithms and the editorial team's expertise to aggregate and offer news from more than 10,000 sources. Trove takes advantage of Facebook Connect - the article said - to pull in user's interests as outlined by his or her Facebook profile to help jump-start the personalization part of the equation.
Users can then create news streams called "channels", which filter news on specific topics - the Los Angeles Times reported - such as Google, Obama, books, sports or whatever he/she is interested in.

As Washington Post's Chairman and CEO Donald Graham wrote, Trove is also, by its nature, a social experience, as you can share your channels with friends, engage with other users and interact with other social media.

It can be accessed by the website, as well as via mobile apps, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android and an iPad app is coming soon, the site claims.

Here is a video presentation of Trove:

Sources: Trove, TechCrunch, LA Times