Photofabler heralds in a new genre of literature: photofabling. Or, writing short stories based on  meaningful pictures.  Every week a new picture is added and you write a fable using that picture as inspiration.

This is a project I’ve wanted to start for a long time. For right now, I’m using ning as a means to disseminate it across the web. This allows me the opportunity to build a social network around my idea at zero cost. That, of course, is in keeping with my general philosophy at MaxBro Media, that it shouldn’t have to cost money to promote a website.

It will be interesting to see if this new genre catches on in a meme fashion. There are plenty of fiction sites and forums and personal blogs across the web, but there’s yet to be a site like this that fuses fiction and photography together. Not only has it never been done before, but it brings together two vast demographics who are always looking for the one big thing: exposure.

Which brings me to my next point: The purpose behind photofabler. It’s really quite simple, to give indepdendent artists more exposure across the web in a meaningful fashion. The web lends itself to pictures because they contain a virtual infinite message packed into a relatively small image. Pictures tell stories, every picture is open to a thousand different interpretations.

However, fiction has always had the biggest challenge on the web. Not because there aren’t decent fiction blogs out there. Not because they are not decent fiction outlets. It’s because the web is an information medium and its biggest swath of users are info junkies. People surf because they are looking to find specific bits of data, not peruse through chapters of a romance novel.

However, what was once a forgettable niche tucked away in the back corner of the web is finally moving into the light. Everyday new blogs are emerging with fictional stories, and everyday fiction crawls closer to becoming a mainstream feature of the web. This is really the early stages of a major trend that in the coming years will dramatically alter the publishing industry, rendering it all but impotent. It’s similar to what’s happening in music now with file sharing, but as always things move at a glacial pace in the literary world.

I’m not sure how photofabler will wind up fitting in with the changing trends, but I do expect it to become a leader. New genres always take time to establish themselves. But it’s like Hemingway said, “It only takes time, and it only needs patience.”

Over the past few months I’ve been gathering domains and prepping several websites in preparation for the launch of my media company. Well, today marks the beginning of MaxBro Media. I’m very excited to start this new project because it will provide a foundation for many cool ideas in the future, and provide me an outlet for the ones I have now. Presently I only have a handful of sites, but they and others to come will grow in size and influence.

With this new venture comes opportunities, challenges, and questions. How do you promote a website when you have no money to pay for advertising? Do you even need to pay for advertising to promote a website? Is it possible to draw substantial and sustainable web traffic outside of traditional Web 2.0 devices like Digg and Reddit? What works and what doesn’t when it comes to promoting a website?

There are many more questions and issues I’ll need to deal with as I progress with my plans. But I believe it isn’t a lavish advertising budget that matters, it’s passion, grit and hard work. That’s what it takes to achieve anything, really.

And what are my goals? They are many, but basically I want to be able to think up creative ideas and then figure out how to derive substantial wealth from those ideas. It’s not about the money, it’s about living my life on my own terms, and achieving maximum potential. I am driven to acquire wealth, yes, but mainly because it gives me more control over myself and the means to help others in need. The first rule of capitalism is, “Take advantage of yourself first, or someone else will,” and I intend to follow it.

It will be a long and twisting road, and there will be many ogres and dragons to fight along the way. But I am confident I can forge through.

Below is the entry on the new “Welcome” page, which gives more detailed information on my media company.

__________________________

Welcome to the nexus of MaxBro Media, a network based on three important principles: creativity, value, and uniqueness. I am MaxBro, founder, gentleman, day dreamer, savvy web surfer, writer, clueless entrepreneur, social news networker, and budding new media potentate. I’m interested in creating exceptional websites that amuse, enlighten, and inform.

Still in its infancy, MaxBro Media is comprised of these websites:

P*********r.com - A super secret project that when launched will impact how fiction is disseminated across the web.

Interview Listings - A growing aggregate of links to interviews with notable figures all over the world.

Milla Jovovich Is Sexy - Statements of the obvious about our obvious state of affairs. A place where I and others vent a mixed bag of political feelings.

You can friend me at these fine places:

Digg
Reddit
Delicious
StumbleUpon

Here on max-bro.net you will find articles on a variety of topics including personal development, Web 2.0, media, movies, finance, among many other things I’ve written on over the past few years. However, I do my primary scribbling on my Tumblr blog here.

Ever notice that rich people have a lot of friends? They do. Lots of them. I’m not talking about friends that know them merely because they are rich. I’m not talking about friends that are bought. I mean real friends.

Look at the richest people in America. Look at people down the block from you that make six figures a year. They all have lots of friends. Poor friends. Richer friends. Professional friends. Blue collar friends. All kinds, from all walks of life. They have friends in high places, friends in low places. Perhaps even friends in places most people would dare not look.

It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure out that there’s a distinct correlation between number of friends a person has and their dollar net worth.

The rich have friends because they realize that it isn’t the little green bills that are important, it’s the people that handle them. It’s human beings that matter. The rich never miss a chance to network with a new person. Because that new person could provide an invaluable opportunity someday. The rich never miss a chance to expand their own sphere of influence, even if it’s just knowing a few extra people at the gym.

The poor usually don’t have many friends. And the ones they do are typically just like them both in personality and economic status. It’s not only misery that loves company, it’s a bunch of other things, too. Cynics love company. Complainers love company. People who have sold themselves out to the Order of the Wage Slaves love company. They need it. It’s their only protection from that crippling feeling of failure and desperation. An opiate, if you will.

But the rich know the good life is blessed with a wide diversity of friends. They know that the best business relationships or partnerships are based on friendship. They know that the phrase “strength in numbers” is not just a bumper sticker slogan. It’s a vital formula within the algorithm of successful living.

Don’t worry about clutching for that almighty dollar. Stop obsessing over whether that new job you’re looking for offers just a teeny weeny bit more dollars per year. Worry about expanding your circle of friends. Branch out and meet as many people as you can. Get to know their names, their faces, and what matters to them. Build your network. And if you don’t have any friends, or any real friends, then get out there and make them because time is of the essence. And in time, your finances will flourish. Then you’ll be rich in material wealth and friends.

(Expanded from my Tumblr post)

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who can drive stick, and those who can’t. The former are way cooler than the latter. Here is a quick guide to help get you into that exclusive club of the clutch capable.

1.) Keep your left heel off the floor when pressing the clutch. This is a big one and it took me some time to figure it out. Digging in your heel hurts your coordination and degrades your ability to focus. When you are just learning to drive stick, focus is of the utmost importance. Later, when you’re more experienced you can drive however you want. But until then, don’t let that heel down.

2.) Practice by yourself. You don’t need some wise-cracking friend or family member there with you while you’re trying to learn stick. You don’t need your girlfriend/boyfriend to lend support. You don’t need your rosary beads, or your prayer rug, or any divine inspiration. You just need yourself, and about two hours of uninterrupted time to practice, practice, practice. If possible, have someone drive you to a vacant lot and then take a bus home. You brain needs quiet time to properly absorb this radically new way to drive.

I’ve heard of some people who learned stick in a matter of minutes. I’d love to say it’s that easy for everyone, but it’s not. It takes a little bit of time and concentration.

3.) Force yourself to learn. Do whatever it takes. It won’t happen until you do it. That person who drove you to the vacant lot, make a deal that if you’re not able to drive them home in the time you’re done practicing, you owe them dinner. At Ruth’s Chris. Make a deal that if you’re not able to drive them home they can beat you senseless with a tire iron. Turn this learning experience into a life or death matter in your own mind.

4.) Remind yourself that driving stick is cool. If you’ve ever given thought to purchasing a convertible, then you’d better learn how to drive stick. Driving a convertible equipped with an automatic transmission is downright unnatural, and possibly even illegal in some states (at least it should be anyway).

5.) Don’t be afraid. When that time comes for you to venture out onto the road–yes, the big, scary road with all the traffic lights, hills, and other cars–just do it. Get out there and drive. So what if you piss everyone off behind you by stalling out at every light? In no time at all you’ll be bona fide clutch qualified, and therefore better than them. Whatever happens, take your time. And above all, don’t be afraid.

Watching the presidential primaries has given me an idea. What if all companies hired people for a set period of time rather than hire them until they quit, get fired or laid off?

Corporations already do this with contract employees, freelancers, and temp hirers. But imagine if during the interview process your potential boss told you that you would only be initially hired for one term. A period of, say, three months. If during that period he doesn’t feel you are a great match or asset to his team, he won’t reelect you to another 90 day term. No harm, no foul. It works the other way, too. If at the end of the three months you decide to take off for greener pastures, that’s perfectly fine.

Three months is usually plenty of time for both sides to determine whether continued employment is a suitable arrangement or not. But such hypothetical term limits could also last for six months or perhaps an entire year, depending on the type of job. Some jobs by their nature require a greater personal investment, especially when training or traveling is involved, and thereby would necessitate a lengthier time. Sometimes a job requires three whole months of training before you even begin. Term limits probably wouldn’t work out in jobs dealing with highly specialized personnel like in the medical field, or classified information. But I think most businesses would benefit by setting term limits for a number of reasons.

Chief among these reasons is competition. How many times have you worked for a boss or had to slave alongside a fellow co-worker who clearly wasn’t cut out for the job? How many times have you seen the preening office moron promoted simply because he has rank and/or tenure? Term limits effectively annihilate someone from “job squatting,” where they do as Peter Gibbons said it in Office Space, “work just hard enough not to get fired.” You would have to get up and literally fight for your job everyday and work your hardest. So would everyone else.

No more oozing in past the time clock a few minutes late “because who’s really watching anyway?” No more extended coffee breaks and idle chit chat with Alan from Human Resources because “the Thompson report can wait till the end of the day.” No more shirking duties onto someone else. When there is no perceived threat of termination in a workplace, the quality of work plummets. Term limits would encourage higher quality, a benefit not only to the workplace but to clients and customers as well.

Naturally, such a constant balls-to-the-wall system would prove deadly for bums and slackers. But this is 2008. Who has time for them anymore? Many companies fear turn-over, but in reality they fear the endless process of hiring and firing and always ending up with the same class of dead beats. With term limits you get positive turn-over. That is, the cream rises.

The next reason is that term limits would help equalize everyone in the work force. No matter your rank or status, you are not immune from the chopping block if your performance falls below a certain threshold. One reason that negative energy festers in so many workplaces is real and perceived inequality. Doesn’t it just burn you up to see the office pet get away with defying his responsibilities while you have to work double time to make up for him? How about the guy who constantly makes mistakes but survives month after month all because management is too lazy to care? Term limits would help even the playing field to where ability and achievement are the only determining factors, not favoritism and friendship.

The third reason is that term limits could help save face for an employee and ward off potential legal trouble for the company. Rather than having to directly fire someone, a company may elect to wait out their term. This way the company avoids a confrontation and a potential lawsuit from someone who might feel they were unjustly fired. Agreeing to work at a company that exercises term limits means agreeing to that system. In other words, the company can choose not to “re-hire” someone for another term no questions asked. Of course, even such a short amount of time as three months isn’t enough in all cases. Sometimes a person just has to get kicked out pronto.

But for the employee who was simply not re-elected, it means they won’t have to avoid putting that company down on their resume because they were (cue dramatic music) fired. In a working world where term limits are normalized, failing re-election at a job would provide a veil of ambiguity. Was it your performance? Traffic too much? Not enough pay? Didn’t get along with Jane the supervisor? The point is term limits at the least provide you the worker an extra layer of protection against a regretful past job performance from haunting future prospects.

They also provide you an exit strategy in the event you happen to pick a bad job. Rather than burn bridges and leave without giving two weeks, or worse, just up and quit after only a few days, you could opt to hang tough and only work your first term.

This also works to the benefit of the company. Sometimes despite a decent work performance a person just isn’t a good fit in an organization. Term limits offer a more respectful and dignified way to gently push someone out rather than terminating them.

Of course, it’s easy to sit back and imagine an ideal business hiring model. Even were such a term limit system to exist widespread it would still be prone to cronyism, oversight on the part of management, not to mention nepotism in the case of family-run businesses. No system is perfect because people are not perfect. In order for such a model to work it would have to have three qualities:

1.) It would have to be instituted from the top down. That means the owner or CEO enforces it as part of the company core philosophy.
2.) It would have to be applied in sync with all levels of management and between all departments.
3.) It would have to be a transparent practice that is readily known and adhered to among all staff and management.

Every company has different needs. And in today’s marketplace it pays to remain fluid and open-minded. Term limits provide a boundary between the employee and the company that as of now is left open largely to chance or the whim of the boss. It gives the worker motivation to succeed, and it gives the company a nice bargaining chip. All in all, both sides end up with a protection and protocol to better survive that day-to-day grind known as WORK.

-mb