An efficient and scalable real-time information distribution system and method of operation thereof are provided that build customized information collections according to individual preferences. This distribution system uses an information distribution network such as the Internet for its communications infrastructure. The system of the present invention is able to achieve high scalability and efficiency by routing information through the information distribution network. Information streams enter the information distribution network through feed processors. Feed processors, in turn, parse the information received from feed sources and create a set of “keyples.” The keyples are then passed on to a series of keyple routers. The keyple routers match the keyples to a set of destinations, thus multiplexing the keyples to only those destinations that have requested the information. A destination can consist of either another keyple router (which allows for the information distribution network to scale to a massive number of destinations) or a keyple customizer. A keyple customizer assigns incoming keyples to collections and then passes them on to a collection builder. A collection builder, in turn, constructs custom keyple collections for individual users.