Scarcity creates value, even if it’s artificially created scarcity.
Take, for instance, diamonds. A textbook example of artificial scarcity.
The diamond industry has a history of manipulating supply to maintain high prices. De Brees was one of the most prominent companies in the global diamond industry in the 20th century, dominating diamond mining, production and sales.
De Brees held a monopoly share of all available diamonds for over 100 years, building massive stockpiles and only releasing a limited quantity to the market to create the illusion of scarcity. The industry’s supply chain learned to control the extraction and distribution of diamonds at centralized auctions to limit the volume of diamonds available in retail markets.
De Beers also did an excellent job of driving demand for their artificially scarce product. The “A Diamond is Forever” slogan has shaped consumers perceptions of diamonds as rare and valuable. We are willing to pay premium prices for shiny rocks that are likely one of the most common items in American households.
The diamond industry has changed in the 21st century, and De Beers no longer has the same dominate chokehold on the supply it once did due to competition from other diamond producers. However the norms have been well established, diamond prices are high while supply remains high, and artificial scarcity persists.
An organization known for establishing a monopoly, violating antitrust laws, trading in blood diamonds, price fixing, smuggling and establishing cartels is a weird place to look for a lesson that can help us be more intentional about my media consumption.
By creating a sense of artificial scarcity in the content we consume, similar to how the diamond market was manipulated, we can filter out the overwhelming flood of information and focus on what truly adds value to our lives. The key is not allowing ourselves to be distracted by the endless supply, but instead making deliberate choices that reduce our options to only the most meaningful and enriching content.
Back in May, I wrote about finishing in the age of distraction and provided my process for selecting and finishing TV shows, movies, podcasts and books amongst the essentially limitless number of options we have. One of the critical steps in overcoming the “Media Commitment Conundrum” was to enforce scarcity.
Feel free to go back and checkout that letter if “Media Commitment Conundrum” sounds like something you suffer from.
Due to a whirlwind of events, including officiating a wedding, getting sick, and traveling to Chicago for work this week, I’m leaning on my “break glass in case of emergency” subject and thought I would share what my current “Scarcity Queue” looks like. As a reminder, my scarcity queue rules go as follows:
TV - Actively watch 4 TV shows at a time
Podcasts - Listening to 5 core podcast shows, with 2 rotational “seasonal” shows
Books - Listen to 1 audible book, read 1 “self development / educational” book and read 1 “fun,” typically fiction, book
Music - All songs funnel through a “Check It Out” playlist where I determine if I want to put a song into my regular rotation of playlists. New songs get listened to at least twice before making or breaking it.
Newsletters - Subscribed to 7 newsletters at a time
This is a process where I artificially create scarcity in what I am allowed to consume. There are a limited number of slots that I can fill with an unlimited number of choices. For instance, I currently have 221 books in my “Want to Read” list on Goodreads. I need to be intentional about what book I plan to pickup next to read.
Scarcity will make priceless diamonds of all the content you select to watch, read or listen to.
For those interested, here is what my current scarcity queue looks like:
TV
“The Terror” - Netflix
“Presumed Innocent” - Apple TV
“Brooklyn 99” - Netflix
“The Rings of Power” - Amazon
Books
“You Like It Darker” - Stephen King
“Salem’s Lot” - Stephen King
As soon as the September flip was switched I jumped into some Stephen King spooky books
“Code Name: Lise” - Larry Lori’s
A narrative telling of a brave British spy’s activities in occupied France during WWII. This is my “educational” read at the moment.
Podcasts
I’ve found some great recurring listens that have made their way onto my list, and some seasonal stories that have had me entranced.
“The Gen Z Water Deal Maker” from “Imperfect Paradise” (Seasonal listen)
“Land of Giants” Disney Season (Season listen #2)
“Armchair Anonymous” episodes from “Armchair Expert”
“Acquired”
“The Journal”
“The Economics of Everyday Things”
“Outside/In”
Newsletters
All of these can be found on Substack
“Lenny’s Newsletter”
“Uncharted Territories”
“Type Click Type”
“How They Grow”
“Salty Popcorn”
“Technically”
“Classical Wisdom”
Music
Some songs currently in my rotation after making it through my “Check It Out” playlist filter.
One small step I’ve added to this is some light tracking on what is “in progress” today.
For books, I use Goodreads - marking a book as “currently reading” on the Facebook-for-readers social platform.
For TV shows I’ve simply been writing my actively-watching-shows onto a magnetic whiteboard on my fridge. You could also easily track this in a journal.
This creates a small ritual when something is marked “FIN.” So often we rush into the next thing, especially with binging becoming the new norm for consuming media. This at least forces me to pause, maybe write down some thoughts I had on the piece, and then intentionally select what I am going to pick-up next.
That’s my scarcity queue, now I’m headed to bed knowing I barely scraped by with getting this out before my Thursday deadline.
Cheers,
The Bel
Interesting. I should try this but it sounds like I'd have to think way too much, which is never much fun at my advanced age ;-)