I wrote this post on my iphone,. I have two iphones, and I cant imagine what the ipad could offer to make me spend another 700 dollars to watch clips on. I have a TV for that. I stopped carrying my Apple Mac book pro around to blog live on at conferences awhile ago. I went smaller and smaller, from my Mac Air which I love, to the iphone and that covers all my needs and is in my hand whereever I go.  * I have two to cover two countries.

 

So the IPAD, AM DESPERATE FOR  ONE? NOT SO MUCH AS IT TURNS OUT.

WHAT THE real people THINK OF IT.

 

 

Click here to see what it can replace

 

 

And for those of you who worship at the Techcrunch altar , a comparision

WISEQUEEN OF ALL SHE SURVEYS.

 I have one of the most common Names in UK and America. Donna Jackson is the English equivalent of John Smith, which is all good and well, but I don't live in USA or UK, I live in that loose association of countries and languages called Europe. Specifically in the Italian speaking part of Europe. High up the boot on the kneecap. 

My name is, almost every day, the subject of great debate and annoyance. I have to spell it out 100 times a day. I used to take Michael Jackson's name in vain and say "like Michael Jackson  you know".  Which didn't help at all because it just upped the wierdness factor. They couldn't write his name either, because  J doesn't exsist in the Italian language. Yes really. If forced, the Italians will refer to it as "I lungo" meaning the long I.

Then lets get to the real joke, my perfectly normal and common Christian name ( outside of Europe), Donna. What hilarity and confusion this causes. What kind of parents would call their child "woman" Don't you have a name? they say. "I can see you are a woman" when I repeat DONNA. This has been going on for a decade.

Wisequeen my handle in the online and blogging world, may be slighter better, but Germans have been known, in presentations I give,  to hear "Widescreen" instead, and go banging on about TVs.

Once Italians know me as Donna, they do everything in their power to change the pronounciation of it because they just can't believe anyone could have such a name. So I get Doner ( far to close to Donut) Dana, and so on.  It's DONNA  I repeat," just  like woman in Italian".  No use.

This week I was on a Swiss train as usual going to Zurich. A German man was checking my ticket I had forgotten my half price card, so asked him to check on the system. I handed him my passport which has my name written correctly on it, which he held in his hand while typing.

No he said, "Not on the system". Really, I said, Are you sure?. "Yes, nothing!" he insisted  and  he filled out a fine for me to sign. And as I looked at the name (which he copied from my passport), he had spelled it Danna. "You have spelled my name wrong" I said. "Then the passport must be wrong" he said. No I said, its right, so please  check again.  He did, and my card came up.

On Christmas day 2009 another Muslim planned to murder Americans travelling on a plane. Due to the courage of  the passengers alone, his mission failed.

He was on every watch list. What is more,  his own  father had warned the CIA that he was a risk.

Why was he not on the no visa, no  fly list? Why did intel not pick him up as he boarded?

As the president of USA had to announce to the nation,  "the human error was not complicated".

They spelled his name wrong..... and therefore the computers could not pick him up.

Really Yes. 

Computers will only give us what we ask for...

Please my  American and English speaking peeps. I ask you  stand with me and declare that the name Donna Jackson is perfectly common and popular!. I need your help! leave me a comment with your name on it, thats all.

Donna Jackson 

Wisequeen of all she surveys.

As the song goes "So this is Christmas, and what have you done?"

 

 

Well... A lot. This year has been an action-packed one for me, and this Christmas Eve  as I pack to go and celebrate Christmas with family in Tuscany and then go on to spend some days in the centre of the world, that is London; I'm very mindful of the fact that so many will not have food and the essentials of life this season. And so, instead of flashing the plastic and ringing up at the tills, I decided instead  to give the gift of food and education for the  orphans at the Kalinda Childrens Home in Zambia who have lost their parents to Aids.

A simple card with a message inside as to what you have gifted and why, is a great gift to give family and friends. It is something all of us can do, so the 20 -50 dollars or Euro that you blow on a few trinkets that get thrown in a drawer after the tree and decorations come down, this year can have far reaching effect on someone's life and future. So I ask you to consider it. You can give  after Christmas too.

 Just Think about it.... 

click on the link to go 

All funds are managed by a team (including doctors here in Switzerland who give of their time) and a school is being built on the land that was bought with the funds raised so far.

A blessed, peaceful, Happy Christmas to you and your families.

Donna Jackson

Wisequeen

 Photo by Teymur Madjderey 

 

 Heres my flikr stream of the greatest tech show held in Paris #leweb09

 

Click on the pink links for all the people and photos of #leweb09 in Paris 

 

  Teymur Madjderey @icedsoul his photos of the people in Paris at leweb09 where I met with  @GaryVee 

# TOP APP Jack Dorsey of Twitter started us off on a high note with SQUARE definitely the favourite app. A cool payment system you can use on your smart phone, it was a hit with everyone as Loic tested it on stage with his iphone and effected a payment. He also announced twitter plans for a developers camp in San Francisco in 2010. The business plan is expressed in the image above, my photo taken from the screen at the conference. The wifi worked well much to everyone's relief this year. # TOP SPEAKER AND FORCE FOR CHANGE must go to Her Majesty Queen Rania who blew everyone away with her flawless delivery, warmth and Tech saviness. I was lucky enough to have a brief moment to greet her and congratulate her on her speech as she left the speakers room where she had discussions with Twitter and Facebook to bring about change in education, health and opportunity for the women and children without access to education and the services we don't give a second thought to. # TOP MOMENT meeting my NY Times Bestseller list, "Crush it" friend, Gary Vee outside the Mayors cocktail party in the magnificent City Hall of Paris . Our group snapped us together and sang out "Ah the two wine people finally together in Paris! We had a quick catch up before we went out to eat. The following day his session had the audience stirred up and shouting for more as he delivered his legendry thunder. Then, in an equally serendipitous moment, I was wandering down an empty street in the Marias to attend a dinner, when Who should I bump into again along rue Sévignéy, but Gary and two friends. We swapped winestories, spoke about our projects and he very proudly showed me his baby girl on his phone. He is truly an inspiration and his message of be grateful and execute on your plans, really resounds with me. Great to see you Gary! Italy awaits your Crushing! # TOP TRUST AGENT Chris Brogan, another of my mentors. Who is such an all round nice guy. He strips out the bs from social media and tools and gets back to basis on how to connect and build trust. His book Trust agents, also on the NY times bestseller list and in its third printing, is a must read. we got to chat hang out. My forthcoming chat with him here will give the best indicator of his approach to marketing your company online. # TOP PARTIES definitely the boat on the Siene with a view of Notre Dame and then the Mayors cocktail party at City hall hotel l'Ville, so beautiful with the enormous Christmas trees. TOP MEMORIES Walking to every party and event there was, from the romantic boat on the Siene to the VIP cocktail parties and coffee/beer night, we rode the metro and I even took a late night bus back to Gare du Nord with @Vascellari and then a taxi to my hotel. My off the wall, ludicrous interview with Paul Carr writer and card, on leaving London for LA and his list. . "The united nations of bloggers our cool team spend the evenings and late nights together @vascellari @clopin @ernohannink @icedsoul @tigertwo @hikari @MihaelaDraghici @liviacolare not one of us lived in the same country. we attended all the parties using the metro to crisscross Paris, walked all over the Marais and to our hotels, past the Louvre at night, very pretty, with all the twinkly lights. We made the VIP room ( A nightclub) too, but nobody could afford the 20 Euro drinks, so we left and had coffee on the way home laughing till our stomachs ached and getting very little sleep. # TOP RESTAURANTS WE ate out with fun bunch each night.On the first night, between parties that we walked across town to get to, we found a lovely restaurant in San Michel with a friendly owner called Red and ate duck and mashed potatoes followed by a crem caramel that was delicious with fabulous Bordeux. last night we also ate a lovely meal in a Fish Resturant the lanes of Marais where a two course meal called a "formula" main course of filet, or Fiorentina steak, fish or whatever you wanted, was prefaced by a lovely starter, I had paté and red onion marmalade, cost just 13 Euro. # TOP HOTELS Admired the very elegant fashiondraped Hotel Pulitzer in rue du Fauborg, but couldnt stretch to that, so stayed in the arty bright place at Filles du Cavilere, nice area. The hotel d Ville just down the road from Rue Curial 3 at the le web venue was affordable, clean, comfortable and friendly with free wifi. Good tip for next year if you can get in. # TOP NO REPEAT the restaurant near the Marais called L'Etincelle 42 bis Rue de Rivoli, who robbed us, as small beer was 11 Euro and the food was overpriced and average. The sting came when Nancy discoved her phone had been nicked, and had to report it to the police. The crushing of my iphone in the street, it lasted till I got home and then crashed. Luckily I managed to download all the pics onto my apple just before it crashed. # TOP REASON TO ATTEND AGAIN NEXT YEAR I wouldnt miss it! A wonderful time of seeing old friends and meeting new ones whose blogs you've been reading for years, like Tara Hunt whose twitter handle is @Missrogue, Laura Fitton who blogs as @pistachio and Cate who blogs as @Cupcate. We expanded our minds and our inner circle of collaborators. Flicker stream of le Web 09 photos **Donna Jackson @Wisequeen Social Communications Strategist.