A documentary film on just any thing. Almost.

If I were to ask you to make a list of topics for a new documentary film what would the top 10 be? I'm sure poverty, war, politics, culture, aliens and all sought of things would fill the page. But how about a movie on Helvetica. Yes, Helvetica, the font. The ubiquitous font we see everyday on almost everything we read from billboards on the busy streets to the signs on trains and buses.

I'm not a typographer by any stretch of imagination but know about fonts a nano bit. And I never thought about a feature-film length documentary on Helvetica. I was amazed to learn that one was made and was more fascinated to see it. I'll now have more appreciation for the letters every time I read a billboard or a signpost.

This made me think about The Long Tail (Chris Anderson coined this term in Wired first). There's an audience almost for everything and the new flat digital world can help you reach them with out much sweat.

If there's a movie and an audience for Helvetica, the font, I'm sure we can find audience for all the crazy topics we have in mind. How about a digital documentary production company that focuses in making films on topics that fit the long tail? Here's your business idea.

What should I see when I visit Earth?

One of my colleagues was going to India and as usual I gave him a twenty minute run down on Devata's version of Lonely Planet for India. I told him what to see and what to do in his one week of off time in Hyderabad and Delhi.

Later that day I was walking with a friend in Harvard Square and a thought occurred to me. What if a colleague from Andromeda galaxy told me that he's visiting planet Earth for 40-50 years and asked me what he should do when he's on Earth. What would I recommend? Pause and think about it for a moment.

Well, I can recommend many places to see - deep oceans, golden deserts, rugged mountains, tropical jungles - or ask him to experience various things - falling in love, making friends, hating someone and taking revenge. And of course, things to do - making love, parenting a child, and so on.

Immediately, the obvious thought occurred to me. Am I doing everything that I want my alien friend to do in his 50 years of life on Earth? Would I recommend him to spend hours and days sitting in front of an object primarily made out of sand (the computer!)? Would I ask him to be a product marketing manager and sell security stuff? Would I ask him to blog or read a blog? May be I would. May be I shouldn’t.

Even though I love my job, the thought started bothering me a bit. I would not recommended my friend to be a product marketing manager, but I would recommended him to dream and live his dream. It’s been a while since I dreamt. What are you dreaming today?