Who are you and what do you do?

Christopher Penn, Chief Media Officer of the Student Loan Network, creator of the Financial Aid Podcast and the PodCamp New Media Conference, co-host of Marketing Over Coffee, and tons more stuff than we have space to list here.

What services/products do you offer?

The Student Loan Network offers federal and non-government student loans to help you pay for the extremely high cost of college. The Financial Aid Podcast offers daily blog posts and weekly audio shows
about how to make college affordable and life after college a little easier.

Who/where is your audience?

My audience is anyone who is interested in learning how to make college more affordable. Interestingly, this used to be college students, but is now parents, working professionals doing continuing education, mid career folks looking for a change – all across the demographic spectrum.

What is the website?

www.StudentLoanNetwork.com
www.FinancialAidPodcast.com

Well-Funded or Bootstrapped?

Bootstraps all the way.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  10 years?

I don’t know. If you’d asked me in 2003 if I would be heading up a new media community of thousands – at last count, the number of people who download an episode of the Financial Aid Podcast would fill a small
stadium – I would have called you crazy. If you’d told me 5 years ago that I’d see my face in the Wall Street Journal, on CNN, a full page spread in BusinessWeek, I would have said that the nice young men in
clean white coats would be here for you shortly.

Where were you born – where do you live now?

New Jersey and Boston.

PC or Mac?

Whatever gets the job done. Mac for the most part, VMWare Fusion for a few PC specific applications, iPod Touch and Nokia N91 on the road, Google for the cloud.

Where did you go to school?

I did my undergraduate in political science at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, and my graduate in Information Systems at Boston University in Boston, MA.

What Social Networks are you on?

Most of them.

Greatest invention ever?

Arguably Gutenberg’s press, with the CPU a close second. Both have enabled humankind to be vastly more effective with information.

Person you believe has contributed most to the world of technology?

Thomas Edison. Without Edison, things like lights would have come much later. It’s not well known unless you watch Jeff Bezos’ TED talk that the lighting system spawned the industries of telecommunications and
home appliance, which laid the groundwork for the massive infrastructure needed to create our world of tech today.

Where have you traveled in your life?

All over the place. Europe, Asia, North America, South America.

Have you ever been to Cape Cod?

Yes! I really enjoy Hyannis and Sandwich.

5 Websites you go to every day?

Google, Google News, Google Finance, Google Reader, GMail.

What’s on your iPod right now?

Lots of stuff. Most recently heard was Bloomberg’s On the Economy podcast, Matthew Ebel’s music, and so much more.

What is on your desktop/screensaver right now?

Nothing. My computer is too busy.

You are on a deserted island – do you bring a laptop or book?

Is there electricity?
Because honestly, I’d rather take a decent sword if it’s survival.

Phone call or text message?

Email.

Feel free to tell us anything else….?

I’m a Buddhist, which has a lot of influence on my worldview. One of the things that Western cultures get wrong is that Buddha was a deity or something to be worshipped. He was a guy who one day got it,
figured out how to be happy, which is primarily to stop wishing life was different than the way we want things to be. The example of the Buddha is important, because he effectively said, I’m just a guy, and
I got it, and you can too. There’s nothing spectacular, special, or lucky about me, and I still was able to work to get it.

This has a larger message, the idea that we’re all pretty much alike. Anything that you can do, I can probably achieve, at least on a theoretical scale. Anything great that anyone has ever done in history, we have the same potential, just as we have the same potential to cause great harm. Any kind of success you see, especially in the worlds of technology and media, you can achieve to, without having access to massive quantities of capital or exceptionally good looks, though few will argue that having access to those will help.

When you take a look at your life, if you’re not thrilled with it, you have the power and potential to change it for the better. My teacher, Stephen K. Hayes, says, “Argue for your limitations and they will be
yours,” which is another way of saying that your potential is only limited by what you decide it to be. If you want to achieve, chances are you can.

Thank you for your time, Chris!

Oh, and or those of you who would like to follow Chris on Twitter – which I would HIGHLY advise, do it!

And go to PodCamp! Look for one in your area! It’s well worth the time!