Welcome to Constantly Curious, Edition #17!

This week at a glance:

• A Social Media Framework to Consider

• INSANE Story I Am Reading Up On

• Three (3) Ideas/Quotes

• Barstool Sells for $0…Wait, Really?

If this is your first time reading - welcome! Let your curiosity run wild with us every Thursday at 12pm EST.

With that said, let’s get into it -

Social Media isn’t Toxic…but You Might Be

I wrote up this Twitter (or X?) thread earlier in the week, and I think its worth expanding on…

With the widespread introduction of For You content, social media is now, more than ever, an honest reflection of the individual looking at the screen…what we engage with, what we watch, and what we pay attention to. Whether we realize it or not, it’s a reflection of what we value.

So, I challenge you to do the following. If you find yourself thinking your social feeds are too negative/anxiety-inducing, ask yourself: "Am I the problem?”

Be HONEST. If the answer is “yes” - that’s a POWERFUL realization because you have the power to change the narrative you’re seeing. Follow different people; people who are real, authentic and transparent about the wins AND losses.

Not sure where to start? I linked some of my favorite accounts in the thread.

You are the product of the energy you put you into the world!

The Greatest Scam Ever Written

I heard about this on a recent episode of My First Million, and had to read the full article.

Over the course of 15-20 years (1990s to 2010s), Patrice Runner ran several “mail-order” businesses/ schemes - none more profitable than the Maria Duval Letters. Essentially, he and his team secured the name, image, and likeness rights of Maria Duval, a legendary psychic, in the early 90s. Runner, a world-class copywriter, then used the NIL rights to create an incredibly compelling (but deceitful) mail-order offering; one that promised things like: “sweeping changes and improvements in your life”, “Guides to My New Life” and “mysterious talismans with the ability to attract LUCK and MONEY”.

Over 1,000,000 Canadian and American citizens sent money to “Maria Duval”, and the scheme generated an estimated $200,000,000 in revenue!

The trial of Patrice Runner began this summer, and he is facing 200+ years in prison.

This is an incredible read, and a really compelling story. Check it out!

H/T to the author, Rachel Browne, for her brilliant work.

Three Quotes/Ideas of Consider This Week

Dave Portnoy just Bought Back Barstool for $0…Wait, What?

On Tuesday, news broke after the stock market closed that Penn National Gaming had entered a strategic partnership with Disney/ESPN to create ESPNBet, an ESPN sports book, and related content. In order to do this, Penn had to dump Barstool Sports, which it acquired for $500m+.

So, to facilitate this deal, Dave Portnoy stepped in and reacquired the brand he founded…for $0.

This created some major headlines, and I’ve been really fascinated with learning about all the intricacies that went into this deal.

These pieces of content were particularly helpful…

See you next week!

Stay Curious, Friends!