Faces of 4Site – John Shortess, Director of Technology

In this series, we will be featuring the different staff members of 4Site Studios. We asked each member of the team to answer a few questions about themselves to give you a sense of who they are. This week, we interviewed John Shortess, our Director of Technology.  

1)  In 250 characters or less, tell us your life story. 

When I was a kid, everyone assumed I’d “go into computers” when I grew up. Even back then, most computers weren’t big enough to walk into, so I’m not sure what they meant. But I surprised everyone by majoring in music.  So what did I end up doing after college? Computers.

2) When/why/how did you get involved professional with digital technology and design?

My first job after college was as an audio engineer at a public television station. From there I started working in video, and then in 1995 I created the station’s first website as a side project. Six months later, they created a new “webmaster” position. I’ve been working full-time on the Web ever since.

3) What expression or quote would best describe your personality?

“The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas-covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.” — Douglas Adams

4) What is your favorite piece of digital technology and why?

There are so many, but probably my iPad. It’s a lot easier on my back than all the dead-tree books I used to carry around everywhere!

5) What is one topic you know way too much about?

How to calibrate an Ampex 2-inch quad videotape recorder. Those big old VTRs were probably my favorite piece of analog technology. They were huge, and noisy, and awesome.

4Site Interactive Studios is a talented troupe of web professionals who are passionate about creating tools to support digital marketers. We love to hear from our community! Reach out to us with your thoughts and questions. And don’t forget to subscribe below to get notified when we post new blogs – no spam, just content👍🏼