The Graubünden Department of Tourism in Switzerland had a genius idea. Take a sweet-looking, gregarious old man in front of a stunning rural vista and have him video chat with Zurich’s equivalent of Grand Central Station. The man talks to people walking by and invites them to join him in the mountains for the afternoon. If they say yes, a paid train ticket pops out the bottom of the monitor. Cute, but not exactly life-changing, right?

I’m not sure why this video struck such an emotional chord with me, but it really did. There’s something so innocent, so hopeful about the idea, it makes me wish I lived in a world where such things were possible.

I guess location is everything. If you tried this in New York, it would immediately turn into an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims.” But still, what a lovely idea.

Humanizing technology. Can you imagine?