Last Updated on February 22, 2022
When you’ve done a weekly feature for 405 weeks, which translates into more than seven and three-quarter years, ending it can be difficult. But there are good reasons to make this week’s Sunday Seven the final edition.
When I started the Sunday Seven, I was enjoying the huge success (relatively speaking, of course) of the Saturday Six.
I wanted a second regular franchise to add to the mix here at Patrick’s Place that would compliment Saturday’s franchise without directly competing with it. Since the Saturday Six‘s premise involved six random questions, for the Sunday Seven, I devised a setup that felt like the opposite: one question with up to seven answers.
If you had asked me back then, in September of 2005, if I ever thought I’d hit the 400 mark, I’d have surely said no after laughing at the very thought. Back then, however, I still wasn’t convinced I’d be blogging at all by the end of that year.
Fast-forward just less than eight years, and there are definitely good reasons to put the Sunday Seven out to pasture. Truth be told, I’ve been contemplating this very move for at least a full year.
But now, finally, I’ve managed to find a way to give myself permission to doAnd how better to explain them than with a list!
7 Reasons It’s Time to End the Sunday Seven
1. I want to offer better lists.
There are really great lists out there that don’t happen to have seven items. But when I find a list of, say, four items, it’s automatically excluded from play here, no matter how good that four-position list might be. I want to change that.
2. There aren’t enough players.
In terms of importance, this one, admittedly, should be further down the list. But let me go ahead and get rid of it now. This meme has consistently been averaging one player or so per week: it’s not that I don’t appreciate that single player, but at some point, the lack of more could be a good sign that this post isn’t as engaging as it should be.
3. The title confuses new visitors.
A while back, I asked a co-worker to spend five minutes scanning my blog. I noticed that he hadn’t clicked on the titles of either the Saturday Six or Sunday Seven. He explained that being a new visitor, the title alone led him to believe it was some ongoing serial of some kind, and that since it was more than 300 episodes in, it was too late to start. The Saturday Six will continue with its name, but there’s no reason to so confuse people twice in the same weekend!
4. Lists should be SEO friendly.
Speaking of avoiding confusion, a more proper title that focused on the subject of the list itself is not only better in terms of helping search engines find this little blog, it also makes it easier for you to find content in which you might be more interested. Nothing wrong with that!
5. It’s hard to adopt some lists to find seven answers.
Once in a while, I’ll find a really good, amusing Top 10 or even Top 20 list. But when I try to choose any seven to further group together one way or another, I can’t quite fill that list. I hate to do a Sunday Seven with only five answers…that somehow doesn’t seem right.
6. I’m running out of ideas.
Yes, I’ve been tempted many times to do a Sunday Seven asking you for seven ideas for future editions of the Sunday Seven, but given that there are weeks that go by without a single response in what seem much easier lists, I had an excellent idea how that would have turned out.
7. …
See how hard it is to always hit seven things on a list?
Because lists are so popular these days, I am starting a new category specifically for lists. Sometimes, those posts will also appear in other categories, like Blogging or Faith, when applicable. But they’ll also appear in that category for people who just like lists in general, regardless of topic. Over time, some of the previous editions of the Sunday Seven may be retitled to make the topic more clear. But I’ll merely change the post title; that way any that contain responses will retain them with the new name.
So please don’t mourn the Sunday Seven too hard: I hope that in its place, even more useful, entertaining content will be waiting for you, and I hope you’ll continue to come back for more!
My reasons for not participating more often stem from laziness, I guess. I like the Saturday Six, because I can answer the questions based on my own feelings, likes, dislikes, experiences, and so on. It’s quick and easy and personal. The Sunday Seven focused on someone else’s list, and me looking through it to find things that resonated with me. It’s a neat idea for sure, but I just found that either you had already chosen the ones I’d have chosen, so my post would just repeat them needlessly, or the third-party list didn’t have enough (or maybe had too many) items for me to find seven that really resonated. I know these are kind of lame reasons, but it’s hard to design new features to take the place of old ones if no one comments on what they like or don’t like. I hope you understand. <:)