A while back I tried Snap Previews on this site. I was told by an overwhelming margin that folks didn’t like them, so I removed the functionality. But I’m still on their mailing list. Today, this was in my inbox:

Dear Website Owner,

This is a special, urgent request to ask you to pour gasoline on a fire.

A few days ago, a programmer contacted Snap about using Snap Shots in a Digg.com mashup. Naturally, we said yes and then did a blogpost because we thought his work was so original and exciting.

Apparently, everyone else agreed.

Currently, that blogpost has registered over 1100 Diggs and has made Snap one of the top stories of the day. Please, please, please read the post and, if you’re so inclined, Digg it.

Meanwhile, the site, Digg Expose, is showing about 100 Snap Shots every second and is responsible for making today the most heavily trafficked day in our history.

Lastly, if you’re as excited by Digg Expose and the number of Diggs our blog post has received, please post about it on your site, tell your friends, get the word out.

Every additional Digg and every additional post about this story adds gasoline to a fire that is absolutely raging.

Thank you so much for your support,

Team Snap

Huh?

Snap folks, congrats on getting a Dugg post. Yes, I know from my work on Web Worker Daily it’s quite exciting to see that traffic peak in the nether regions for a day or so. But if I still had Snap Previews on my site, why on earth would I really care? What’s in it for me?!?!? As one of your customers, why should it matter to me and my business that you’ve had a good day? You have to recognize that your product is an add-on, and Digg traffic is fleeting. If anything, you’ve had stability issues as a result of the traffic, according to the comments in that Digg post, so tell me again, why should I care? You have to answer that question in every email you send out, otherwise you’re just wasting my time.