9781422287224

12

TUMBLR

are used to make programs. Others are used to build websites. The most basic computer language used to build a website is known as HTML. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. Programmers use HTML code to tell a computer what to display on a website. For example, a web developer can use a special HTML command to change the color of the text shown on a website. Another command can change the background color of the page. The possibilities are endless when it comes to HTML. David began teaching himself how to use HTML when he was eleven years old. Books and websites were a very helpful part of his research. Along with learning came experimentation. David tried his hand at build- ing websites and realized he liked it a lot. He was creating websites of his very own before he could drive! At the time, David was attending classes at the Calhoun School. His mother worked there as a science teacher and encouraged his interest in technology. David was a good student, but he was far more interested in his own projects than what he learned at school. As David grew older, he knew he wanted to use his skills to become an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a person who starts his own busi- ness. David’s first business venture, he decided, would be creating web- sites for small businesses. But in the meantime, he had a lot to learn. HIS OWN BUSINESS David took an internship job at the age of fourteen. An intern is someone who works for very little pay, or even for free, in order to learn a job. One of the companies David worked with was Frederator Studios, which specialized in animation . The founder of the company, Fred Seibert, was a friend of David’s family, and he became a mentor to David. He taught David a lot about computer animation and web development while David worked at the company. David used his time at Frederator Studios to soak up all the knowledge he could from older, more experienced programmers and engineers. The