RSS Feeds

Want to receive the latest news about Connecticut College - including athletic news, upcoming events and alumni profiles - delivered immediately, right to your computer, PDA or cell phone? Now you can, with the College's RSS newsfeeds.

Thousands of news outlets such as the BBC, CNN, the New York Times and ESPN, as well as Web sites and blogs on any subject, offer RSS feeds.

Read on to learn how. Then come back up here to this list of links to access the College's feeds.

Connecticut College News
Connecticut College Feature Stories
Connecticut College Athletics News

» What is RSS?

» How do I get the Connecticut College RSS feeds?

» What RSS reader should I use?

» Does it cost anything?

» What about my privacy? Am I giving away personal information when I sign up for an RSS feed?

» How often will I get news from the RSS reader?

» Where can I get more information on RSS?

Q: What is RSS?

A. It's not just more e-mail!

RSS, Rich Site Summary, aka Really Simple Syndication, is an XML-based format that allows quick and easy distribution of a particular Web site's news to be made available directly to the public. News outlets such as the BBC, CNN, the New York Times and ESPN offer RSS feeds, and now, so does Connecticut College.

RSS and Atom "feeds" using XML technology are essentially headlines and brief summaries with links to the full text. Connecticut College currently uses version RSS 2.0.

Connecticut College's three RSS news feeds comprise all the College's press releases, athletic news and feature stories. When a press release is distributed by the Office of College Relations or the Athletics Department, it is also automatically distributed as an RSS feed.

Also, blogs - such as the CELS summer internship blogs and SATA blogs - are also available as RSS feeds.

Q: How do I get the Connecticut College RSS feeds?

A: First, you will need an RSS reader - a "news aggregator" - that displays RSS and Atom feeds using XML.

Second, after installing or accessing an RSS reader, click on the links here above, which should either automatically add the sites to your RSS reader, or will bring you to a separate page which requires that you manually paste its URL into your reader. Follow instructions for your particular RSS reader. Subscribe to all three XML feeds to be sure to get all the college's latest news!

Q: What RSS reader should I use?

A wide range of RSS readers can be easily downloaded, free, from the Internet. Some readers are Web-based while others require you to download a small software program. Also, most browsers now incorporate an RSS reader.

Caveat! The College's Web Team warns that some readers for PC may contain spyware, small software programs that can compromise your privacy and slow your computer.

The members of the Web Team at Connecticut College have successfully downloaded and used a variety of readers:

Awasu for PC
NetNewsWire for Macs
RSS Reader for PC

Even better, Internet browsers now incorporate RSS readers/aggregators :
There's Safari RSS for Mac OSX; Firefox (Mac or PC) has an extension aggregator called Sage; and Internet Explorer for PC.

Another alternative to downloading a dedicated news reader is to use a Web-based news reader, available to both Mac and PC users. For example, MyYahoo! subscribers can now add RSS feeds directly to their personal page. Another longstanding Web-based reader is the simple-to-use Bloglines, which College Relations has used for hands-on training in its RSS classes for staff.

Q: Does it cost anything?

A: RSS feeds are free. Many RSS readers are free also, but some may charge a licensing fee.

Q: What about my privacy? Am I giving away personal information when I sign up for an RSS feed?

A: Your privacy is protected. Clicking on the links above allow you to receive a Connecticut College RSS feed, but it does not provide the College with any information about you. (Caveat! The CC Web Team warns that some readers for PC may also contain spyware, so be careful which RSS reader you choose. See suggestions above. )

Note to Alumni: If you are an alumna/alumnus and want to update your address or e-mail information in College records, send an e-mail to alumni@conncoll.edu or, if you have not already done so, register with the CC Alumni Online Community.

Q: How often will I get news from the RSS reader?

A: It depends on which RSS reader you choose, and which RSS feeds you subscribe to. With most RSS readers you can change the frequency settings to determine how often it will retrieve the latest headlines for you: e.g. hourly, twice a day, daily. Connecticut College RSS feeds are distributed regularly throughout business hours.

Some readers also have a notifier, which is an activity window that pops up to let you know you've just received the latest feed.

For more information concerning Connecticut College's RSS feeds, contact Holly Camerota.

Q: Where can I get more information on RSS?

For more information about RSS* consult the Dartmouth College Library News Center's "Introduction to RSS" http://www.dartmouth.edu/~newscenter/ncrss.php
and Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/rss%20.

* Connecticut College is not affiliated with these sites and is not responsible for the information and content provided. We are offering these links as a convenience for those users who are seeking RSS news aggregators and more information about RSS. The CC Web Team warns that some downloadable readers for PC may contain spyware.