As anything scales too effectively - from fashion to restaurants to music - the market opens for more non-scalable alternatives. Once Starbucks opens on every block, many of us crave the artisanal coffee shop. Once our favorite Italian restaurant becomes a chain of three, we grow tired of it. Why? First, so much of what we buy and do is tied up in... See more

Instead of fancy clothing and fancy destination are Spotify #2020wrapped to show off one’s taste, along with bookcases, vinyl collections, nature walks, plant colonies, cooking adventures, workouts, home improvement projects, podcasts, newsletters, Instagram gift guides.

The same generation that built the platforms that made everything abundant, frictionless and dematerialized, is now paying premiums for scarcity, friction, and materiality.