Today was a strange day at 3GSM in Barcelona. Yesterday people couldn't wait to talk to us about social networking on the mobile phone. We were on a roll! Today we had a big name CEO turn us down for an interview leaving us feeling pretty bumped out. Then a stroke of luck perhaps? Right outside the office, I spotted a Chinese company in the media center who we'd been wanting to speak to. I politely introduced myself to a representative and asked if they would like to speak to us. Next thing I was being 'manhandled'. This man's hand was on my back and he was pushing me away from a room where they were holding a client meeting. Were they in the media center or was I going nuts?! So ....I waited until he turned his back....ran over to their hospitality table and stole a handful of chocolate donuts. They were the yummy little ones with the yellow dough covered in milk chocolate. I'd been eyeing them up all morning… Todd and Jim were suitably amused and happy to get a donut out of the deal. You win some and lose some I guess...And despite the donuts, it just wasn't one of our better days.

From CNN Producer Linzie Janis in Barcelona.

We've been at 3GSM for two days, but it feels more like a week. We all keep saying things like: "That was only this morning? Are you sure?" But I'm not complaining. The long days have been fun. We've spoken to a host of companies who are very excited about what they think will be a revolution in mobile communication. One day in the not so distant future they say we'll do everything on our phones. From paying the bar tab and using sat navigation to social networking and watching TV and films. Most of these technologies are already here, but they are nowhere near mainstream or seamless. No doubt, there's a long way to go until mobiles are as easy to use as the Internet on the PC.

Speaking of the Internet, my colleagues and I have struggled to use it at all. The conference provides a high-tech media center with free wifi for all. The only problem is it's way too slow. There are hard-wire connections but not nearly enough for the dozens of journalists. You'll find some of them camped out on the floor. It's testament to the growing importance of this conference. By nearly all accounts it's been a huge success so far. We're off to meet some dotcom millionaires who are about to take on Apple's iPhone and we're hoping to speak to one of the biggest CEOs in music.

Wish us luck.

From CNN Producer Linzie Janis in Barcelona.

As a producer working in Iraq for the past two years, it's hard to not admire my Iraqi friends and colleagues; admire them because they still and show up at work, because they still send their children to school, because they drive on the most dangerous streets, but most of all because they still smile ...

Iraq today is a depressing story -- a story you can read on the faces of its people -- those I know still smile, but behind every smile is a somewhat similar story-- one of fear, pain and trying to survive.

A year ago I met Ahmed while waiting for a press event. He stuck out -- dressed in a bright suit and shoes too shiny to have come off the dusty Baghdad streets. We had hours to kill -- and Baghdad is the sort of place where bonds are quickly formed in the shadow of the violence hanging over everyone's head. Ahmed loved his career, and like many of the Iraqi's that I have met here, mocks the violence, the government, the militias, the insurgents -- trying to turn terror into humor to cope. He had me in stitches with his comments about various politicians, and in awe of his ability to still be able to laugh and defy the violence.

"Come on, I'll pick you up -- we can have lunch with my mom and run around Baghdad," he said at one point. It was of course an impossible proposition given the circumstances.

Last November Ahmed was dragged out of his car and shot dead in Baghdad's Adhamiya -- a highly volatile Sunni district. Ahmed was on TV almost daily and had just started working for an Iraqi channel with Sunni affiliations accused by the government of inciting sectarian violence. More than 30 journalists were killed that year.

Just two days before his death I had seen him at a distance at a press event -- we waved at each other and he flashed me that bright smile.

Now, I look at his picture and realize that to many he is a mere statistic, one of the thousands of Iraqi casualties we report everyday.

A reality we report -- a reality they live.

From CNN Baghdad Producer Jomana Karadsheh.