I've spent the last three years working on something like this, recently started a business based on my work, and it's generating profit. I did all this with no formal education in IT, programming, CS, etc. However, I'm extremely computer literate and tech savvy. Point being, there are ways to do this sort of thing without knowing how to write code. How difficult what you want to do will really depend on what kinds of information you're trying to isolate and then aggregate, along with how you want the information deliver to you or other end users, whether you're going to want it archived, what kind of hardware your working with, if you need access to the information in real time (setting up something that gives you what you're looking for whenever you sign in, do a search, or check your email is much easier), and a number of other variables. My "system," which is really a collection of different methods of finding information, sorting it, archiving, and alerting me to its existence, is related to e-commerce, finding the best possible deals on goods and services, including those offered only on subscription-based sites, member forums, in email-only deal links for members of various services/customers of various stores, and so on and so forth. However, I've done something similar for a hedge fund as well, with stock market information from paid services in the past. Without programming experience, tracking this sort of endeavor ends up being a little like embroidery . . . Crafting something elegant takes time and patience, and the more of effort you're willing devote to your goal, the more impressive your results will be. Perhaps you could be a little more specific about what kind of information you're trying to filter, how you want it presented to end users, towards whom the information would be directed (e.g. just yourself, all the employees at your company, customers to whom you would sell it, the pubic), what kinds of non-pubic information sources you want to draw from in addition to what you could find on, say, Google, and whether your trying to draw from a specific list of information sources or simply anything that's out there? If any of these questions are asking for sensitive information that you'd rather not post on a public forum for obvious business-related reasons, feel free to email/private message me for more information. My system is already evolving, and I'd gladly share some of my methods with anyone willing to share whatever they learn in pursuing any similar work.
