I an previous post, I told the story of how Dr. Campos provided an RSS tutorial during my WordPress blog installation.
I asked Dr. Campos if he could have done the installation more efficiently than I, and he said I was "half-right."
Here is the rest of the story
"You're half right," continued Dr. Campos. "I could have set up the blog, but it was better for you to do so."
"Why?"
I asked."Because as a media intern, you are here to learn about media, to help you with your future job when you graduate."
"I've learned a little about
"You've learned a lot about the internet?" he inquired.
"Yes."
"Then you've learned a lot about media." he concluded, in Mr. Miyagi fashion.
Dr. Campos explained that the internet is currently the most powerful media. Post-Gutenberg, it was text. Mass produced books spurred the Protestant Reformation and the overthrow of governments. Post-Edison, it was motion pictures. Propaganda inspired Russian patriotism, German dedication, and the American fighting spirit. Now, in the information age, audio and video synergize with text to create webpages that transduce a message.
"Okay, the internet is great," I said, "but is it a medium?"
Dr. Campos explained that a medium just transmits. A sculptor's medium is clay: he shapes it to communicate his intention to his audience. Our medium is video: we place camera lights and actors to transmit our message. The internet transmits a message as well. The web designer has a message he would like to communicate, and he arranges tags, and chooses fonts and media that work in unison.
"So as a 'Media Intern'," I asked, "I'm not just going to learn about text and camera, but internet as well?"
Dr. Campos said nothing, as was his wont.
"And you challenged me," I continued, "to stretch my existing html and php knowledge, because you knew I could do it, and you knew it would help me in the future."
"You might go far as a writer," Dr. Campos pithed, "but you'll go farther as writer who understands the internet."
"And I'll go even farther as a writer who understands the internet, who also can produce videos?"
I realized I had a lot to learn as a media intern. And Dr. Campos is one of the few people in the world who could teach me to get that far. (And did I mention he also has a PhD in science? Wow.)
