Pivot is being developed as a way to connect data from different sources on the internet and aggregate each individual item into "collections" based on its metadata. The pivot website really sums it up nicely...At the heart of Pivot are "Collections." They combine large groups of similar items on the Internet, so we can begin viewing the relationships between individual pieces of information in a new way. By visualizing hidden patterns, Pivot enables users to discover new insights while interacting with thousands of things at once.

Pivot could be very useful for research purposes. Typically when I am learning about something new I will Google it, read the most promising results in the list first, then I will try use the new terminology I learned to create additional searches to "fill in the gaps". With Pivot, it seems that you can search for something with generalized terms and allow the collection engine to find other relevant information based on patterns it derives in the metadata. Right now the project is in beta but the idea behind it seems very powerful. For more information check out this video...