# Crossbeam reflections + Philly's trash problem

*Hello friends! You likely signed up for this after reading* [*one of my
essays on
Medium*](https://medium.com/@SeanBlanda?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*,*
[*my personal website*](http://seanblanda.com), *or* seeing something on
[*Twitter*](http://twitter.com/seanblanda?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*.
I send this thing every few months, mostly a wrap-up of stuff I’m
working on and thinking about — all ending with a sweet flag. See past
issues*
[*here*](https://buttondown.email/Blanda/archive?utm_source=Blanda&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=a-brand-new-shuffle-editiontm-aka-8-questions-as)*.
There are always typos. Now, to the newsletter…*

![IMG_3808.JPG](../images/488d00dfacd9.jpg)

*The Esopus Creek in Phonecia, New York. The pandemic "hobby" I picked
up was fly fishing — and it kind of reminds me of surfing: a wonderful
excuse to be humbled by nature in a beautiful place.*

\-

## 📖 New essay: 7 Lessons learned from scaling a content machine at Crossbeam in 18 months

[![image11.png](../images/ed64fcf237df.png)](https://www.seanblanda.com/7-lessons-learned-from-scaling-a-content-machine-at-crossbeam-in-18-months/)

My day job is Director of Content at
[Crossbeam](https://crossbeam.com/), a B2B SaaS startup based in
Philadelphia. And for the last 18 months, I've been heads down with my
team building a content operation from scratch. I see so much in this
space about one-off tactics but nothing about starting a strategy from
square one. This essay is my best attempt at offering advice for anyone
else trying to build an audience. Included:

- Why SEO is a waste of time (at first)

- How we built an email list of 22k people

- Some awesome feedback from readers

[I hope you like
it](https://www.seanblanda.com/7-lessons-learned-from-scaling-a-content-machine-at-crossbeam-in-18-months/)!

## 🙏 Birthday Request: Help us pick up trash in Philadelphia

![image0.jpeg](../images/9a1c7478e72e.jpeg)

Last week was my 35th (!) birthday. If you've enjoyed anything I've
written ever, I have a request: Donate to "[Point Breeze is
Beautiful](http://pbib.org)", a nascent organization some friends and I
have created dedicated to funding regular trash pickups in my
neighborhood in South Philadelphia.

Philly has long had a trash problem, and during the pandemic, [it got
worse](https://whyy.org/episodes/phillys-trash-problem-was-already-bad-now-its-worse/).
Some folks in my neighborhood started taking regular "trash walks" to
clean their block.

PBIB will hope to augment efforts from neighbors by hiring returning
citizens with a mix of private and corporate donations. Our first pilot
trash pickup funded by donations was today and it was a big success, we
picked up 520 pounds of garbage!

Chances are you don't live in my neighborhood. But [it would make my
year if you could donate to our next
cleanup](https://donorbox.org/street-sweeping). (You can "sponsor a
block" with a donation of \$65.) 100% of all money goes directly to
trash pickups.

\<3

### Other updates:

- I was on the front page of Hacker News twice in two weeks. Both of
  these are several years old. The internet is a funny place!

  - First, [for my essay about discovering the journal of my dad after
    he passed away](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28290408) — on
    the week of the anniversary of his death, no less. I've received
    many thoughtful texts and emails from very kind strangers about
    their own grief. It's been an unexpected source of warmth.

  - And then, for my piece "[The Creative World's Bullshit Industrial
    Complex](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28459533)".

- I appeared on [the "Long Game"
  podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0YxLvuh8Bsa7hmuwBX2x0d?si=na7M40eiQz2RTKhwt71caw)
  to talk about my career path and content marketing.

- I was on [The Foster
  Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2iwNgGcMZYpfzcbD9lE0ju?si=RVRzVrdQRdeOFyovH8roKQ)
  to talk about finding your voice as a writer

- At Crossbeam we launched our
  [Supernode](https://crossbeam.com/supernode) conference.

## 🏳 Official newsletter flag (for now):

![lr.png](../images/8c94a00c211e.png)

Liberia! Often confused with the flag of Chile or — given recent events
— Texas (especially on a tiny emoji keyboard). Liberia was founded by
freed slaves from the United States, their flag an homage to that fact.
The 11 stripes are in honor of the 11 signatories of its declaration of
independence, and its star is a reference to being the "first free
nation" in Africa.

But Liberia is interesting beyond its (incredible) founding story, this
flag is [flown by 12% of shipping
vessels](https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/10/17/why-do-one-in-ten-ships-fly-tiny-liberias-flag).
The reason: it's easy to register your merchant ship with this tiny
nation and avoid taxes back home — making this flag a "[flag of
convenience](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_convenience)".

Whether it's on a ship or a mistyped emoji, the Liberian flag often does
not represent what it should. And that's a shame.

Dear reader, may you never be afraid to show your own true colors.
Thanks for making space in your crowded inbox for this newsletter,

— Sean