On the Web, the concept applies to commerce as well as content, and soon it will extend to dynamic applications. Syndication will evolve into the core model for the Internet economy, allowing businesses and individuals to retain control over their online personae while enjoying the benefits of massive scale and scope. The Net is a communications medium, a platform for commerce and a distributed computing environment, all at once. If we view the Net as a public library rather than a shopping mall, for example, we'll think differently about issues such as content filtering, privacy and the role of advertising. Far less appreciated are the points of commonality across different metaphors.
Syndication uniquely cuts across the idioms of content, commerce and computing.
Though usually seen as an artifact of traditional passive media, syndication fits perfectly with the Web's fluidity and interactivity. The foundations for pervasive Web-based syndication are now being laid, but everyone is still trying to figure out just what the structures on top will look like. Software vendors, service bureaus, content creators, interactive agencies and merchants are jockeying to define the models for syndication networks. Battles are being fought in both standards bodies and discrete marketplaces. In this issue we examine the companies illuminating the possibilities for ubiquitous syndication on the Net.