The basic idea of restructuring information about web sites goes back to as early as 1995, when Ramanathan V. Guha and others in Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group developed the Meta Content Framework (MCF).^[1] For a more detailed discussion of these early developments, see the history of web syndication technology.

Large scale web syndication of content started in 1999 when Studio One Networks produced and distributed the first series of syndicated programs designed to be distributed on the Internet for its sponsor American Honda.^[2] Nowadays, many different types of content are syndicated on the Internet. Millions of online publishers, including newspapers, commercial websites and blogs, now publish their latest news headlines, product offers or blog postings in standard format news feed.