Hotmail went viral because its users spread the word about Hotmail every time they sent an e-mail through the Hotmail service that included a link encouraging all e-mail recipients to sign up for a free Hotmail account.  So now that we’ve gotten the bad news out of the way, I promise to dedicate a series of blog posts to restoring your faith in viral marketing.  Viral marketing has long been the Holy Grail of Internet marketing.  But like the Holy Grail, it seems forever elusive, always slightly beyond your grasp.  Congratulations! Viral bliss awaits you. Snap out of it!