A Poster Posts A Post About The Post Streak

Note: This story was originally reported by the Washington Post

Babylon, NY – Recent reports in the track and field database have shown that Jarrett Felix (also known as “etrain11”) is planning to attempt an assault on the all-time post streak record set in February of 2012. Felix, then blogging at the uncreatively named etrain11.blogspot.com, recorded a record 54 straight posts starting on January 4th and ending in February.

The rules of the streak are simple: make a post every day. The content of the posts does not have to meet any specific guidelines or length requirements Instead, the honor system is assumed and it is implied that the author of said post will put together something that is at least somewhat constructive to the overall blogging atmosphere surrounding the site. It’s a code of conduct Felix may have exploited a bit in 2012, but the streak was ratified, as expected, by blog executives on March 1^st of the same year and has held its position at the top ever since.

Felix is already boasting an active streak that dates back to January 17^th. It’s a nice start, but he has a long way to go to surpass the magic 54 post run that is etched in the blogging record books.

“I think this is something I need to do,” Felix said yesterday at his press conference, “Things were getting a little stagnant for me and I needed to challenge myself to be better, push my creative buttons a bit more and, hopefully, take my game to another level.”

Felix’s “game” has been deteriorating massively in recent months according the various blogs that write about other blogs. Rumors have swirled that the once energetic collegiate has lost a step. And some business rivals have speculated that Blake Behney was brought in to be his replacement if ratings continue to crumble.

“Etrain used to be one of the brightest young stars in the game,” said one critic who chose to remain anonymous, “But now he might not even be the best poster on his own site. Let alone in the league of someone like Dan Beck or Don Rich. I mean did you see what he said about the Space Jam Spin-Off? That was just weird. Lex Mercado wouldn’t have done that. I can guarantee it.”

It’s unclear whether the post streak will be the fix Felix needs to get back to the top or if it will simply exacerbate his slump. The 2012 post streak had its moments (including the award winning “Valentine’s Day” which won Best Supporting Post at the Bloggy Awards), but it also featured duds such as “I Have A Problem”, “A Little More A Little More In Depth” and “Alrighty”.

“I think that’s why no one has attempted a post streak like that,” said veteran blogger Phoebe Wright, “It can drive you mad trying to come up with new content every day. I’ve seen some of the best in the business chase that record. And none of them have been the same after trying. You’d think etrain of all people would know that.”

But Felix is confident that he has the support system to make the run. And he also won’t deny that this is, at least in part, due to his obsession with reaching the coveted 1,000,000 view mark by the end of 2017.

“Sometimes you have to take chances,” Felix says. “I had that post streak at the beginning of 2012. By the next October, we got over 100 comments on the Henderson vs. O’Hara Debate. If we are going to have any chance at a million, we need to do something to put us on the map with the same kind of growth we saw in 2012.”

Statistics released to the Washington Post have indicated that blog viewership has stagnated and, in certain months, actually decreased in the past year. The best growth has actually come on the NCAA side where Garrett Zatlin has orchestrated one of the top blogs within a blog in recent memory. The creativity earned Zatlin his first bloggy nomination in 2015 for his Bullish-Bearish work and he’s one of the hot names suspected to win a bloggy in 2016.

It’s worth noting that Felix hasn’t won a bloggy since 2014, riding a wave of good will after his dramatic comeback and getting a controversial victory over ForrestCRN.

Further complicating matters is the release of “The Commit” and upcoming college-high school cross over series designed by Zatlin that is receiving rave reviews from experts and non-experts alike. The rumor was that the runners only agreed to the interviews because they were with Zatlin, a rumor that Zatlin’s representatives squashed this week.

“There is certainly no beef between Mr. Zatlin and Mr. Felix at this time. Garrett has received nothing but support and encouragement from the writing team, most notably Jarrett. They have a strong working relationship and are both respected in their field.”

When asked if Zatlin would attempt a post streak his representative replied, “No way. He’s not crazy.”

Regardless of the controversies currently surrounding the site, it’s hard to deny that the post streak record attempt will at least draw some extra attention to the site.

“People love a good record chase,” says the site’s YouTube expert Evan Hatton, “You hear someone is going for a world record, you’re going to do everything you can to try and watch it.”

“Yes, flotrack has considered buying the exclusive rights to post streak viewing,” the site’s financial expert Caleb Gatchell reported, “I mean, when you set your sights on something like this you know that you will either see history or you will see an epic crash and burn. That’s gonna get views.”

Whether is enough to get to 1 million views is a different question.