How to Add a News Feed to MyHamilton

A “news feed” (also known as an RSS or “Really Simply Syndication” feed) is a specialized link that allows publishers to distribute their news to you without you having to visit the publisher's web site. It is sent in a format that allows you to display it using an RSS reader or display it on a web page (like we do in My Hamilton). 

A convenient way to collect news feeds is to add them to the NEWS tab in My Hamilton.  Hamilton College provides you with a list of popular feeds when you click on the NEWS tab and select “Add news feed”.  However, there are times when the feed you want to add isn’t in the list.  This document explains how to add one that is not already provided.

1. To add a news feed, you must first know the web address (URL) for the news feed.  These are normally clearly marked either with RSS    or with a symbol like .     For example, if you go to the following web site:  http://www.us-cert.gov/,  you’ll see several links for news feeds.

2. In this example, you would click on the RSS button for Security Tips.  It takes you to a web address that looks like:
3. Highlight the entire address and then copy it by clicking on your Edit menu (or Page menu in Internet Explorer 7) and then select Copy.
4. Next go to http://my.hamilton.edu and login using your Hamilton e-mail ID and password.
5. Click on the NEWS tab.
6. Click on the button labeled, Add news feed.
7. At the top of the page that lists the feeds provided for your convenience, click on the link labeled add your own news feed. 

8. In the spaces provided, type a descriptive name for your news feed.  In this example you could enter “Cyber Security Tips” in the Feed name (title) field.
9. Paste the web address you copied in step 2 into the space labeled Feed URL by clicking on the Edit menu (or Page menu in Internet Explorer 7) and then select Paste.

10. Click on Add.
11. You should see a message indicating the feed was successfully added.  Now, click on the NEWS tab again (to refresh the page) and your news feed should appear!