Today the MSN network was experiencing connectivity problems. You may have noticed you could not login to the eBuddy MSN service for a few hours, and you may have noticed our website was loading slow at times.

Here’s some more background on what happened. Usually when MSN is down, you cannot login to MSN through eBuddy either. But lots of people will try anyways, which results in a huge spike of logins on our servers. Because of this our webservers were having a hard time keeping up.

In the event this occurs a next time, if you have any suggestions on how best to inform you of this, please let us know. Off course we will remain to do our best to provide you with the best service we can.

It all started last year September 2006. I just returned from an internship in Perth, Australia and was looking for a graduation assignment. I spent a month searching high and low for a company that could offer me a graduation assignment.
One day by chance I came across eBuddy whilst chatting to a friend. I read they offered internships and so a quick phone call, several emails and two meetings later I found myself sitting behind a desk at eBuddy HQ. Things went fast and within the first week I was up to speed about the company and what needed to be done.

My graduation assignment was to make a communication plan and matrix for 2007. The company had been growing so fast that many things weren’t documented properly, especially in communication. My task was to provide a clear overview of how and what we should communicate with you, the user.

I wanted to graduate in February but things did not work out as planned. I became so involved with eBuddy because there was so much that needed to be done. After meeting with my graduation supervisor, I took a step back from work and bit by bit I pieced together a graduation report. The report is now complete and the last hurdle I have left is presenting and defending my graduation assignment. After that I’ll be graduated and done

My time at eBuddy has been a great learning curve for me, I’m glad to see that the things I planned in my report are being implemented. It’s really satisfying to know and see that my contribution has brought about change and did help make a difference.

Working for a start-up like eBuddy is different than working for a multinational because the work is much more hands-on and you learn a lot in the process. I don’t have to write reports which end up in a file cabinet. The freedom to express my thoughts and ideas has enabled me to fully develop myself within the company. What touches me the most is having so many new friends and being part of a team. Going out for drinks or having lunch together has always been fun and that’s what I really like about eBuddy. There’s still plenty to be done so as of next week eBuddy will be the first company I will be working for. Thank you JJ and everyone who has helped make this possible!

If you’re looking for a challenge and want to do work that does make a difference, eBuddy might be what you’re looking for. The hands-on work brings a truck load of lessons and experiences. So just like I once did give it a shot and find out for yourself!

Best,

Rick