Ever wonder if our e-mail messages to Congress are being read? There was
a short article about this study "E-mail Overload in Congress" in todays
paper. The full report is online at:
http://www.congressonlineproject.org/email.html

Congress Online Project  :Conducted by George Washington University and
the
Congressional Management Foundation - "E-mail Overload in Congress :
Managing a Communications Crisis"

The report included this advice to advocates:
"...e-mail to a Member of Congress has the greatest impact when it is:

                           * From a constituent, with a name, full
address,
                             and zip code included;
                           * In the constituent's own words, not copied
from
                             a form letter or Web site;
                           * From an individual, not an intermediary
                             organization or Web site;
                           * Regarding a single issue, not a group of
                             unrelated issues;
                           * In an easy to read format, with a clear
purpose
                             stated in the first paragraph;
                           * Not attempting to begin a dialogue, which is
                             better conducted on the phone or in person;
and
                           * Directed to the appropriate office:
committee
                             business to the committee, and constituent
                             business to the Member's personal office."

It also noted that : " e-mail messages often receive lower priority in
congressional offices than postal mail and phone calls. The general
assumption is that e-mail messages are just quick notes or unformed
thoughts. Offices figure that
constituents will take the time to call or send a longer letter about
issues that deeply concern them..."

Some other interesting findings:
                       " The explosion in electronic communications is
                        dramatically changing the way Americans interact
                        with one another, with businesses, and with
                        government. While virtually all institutions are
                        struggling to adapt to the demands of a
"paperless
                        environment," the challenges facing Congress are
                        among the most difficult and contentious. Growing
                        numbers of citizens are frustrated by what they
                        perceive to be Congress' lack of responsiveness
to
                        e-mail. At the same time, Congress is frustrated
by
                        what it perceives to be e-citizens' lack of
                        understanding of how Congress works and the
                        constraints under which it must operate. This
                        growing tension is exacerbated by several
factors.

                        First, the volume of e-mail to congressional
offices
                        has risen dramatically over the past two years.
The
                        number of e-mail messages reaching the House of
                        Representatives, for example, rose from 20
million
                        in 1998 to 48 million in 2000, and it continues
to
                        grow by an average of one million messages per
                        month. The heavy e-mail traffic generated by the
                        recent nomination of John Ashcroft as U.S.
Attorney
                        General slowed Senate servers to a crawl, causing
                        delays in e-mail delivery that lasted hours -
and,
                        in some cases, days. This flood of e-mail has
been
                        fueled by the ease and speed of online
                        communications, the electorate's growing interest
in
                        national politics, and the grassroots activities
of
                        lobbyists and e-businesses that are
electronically
                        motivating the public to "make their voices heard
in
                        Washington." Unfortunately, these advocacy
                        organizations are also encouraging the public to
                        engage in e-mail practices - like spamming
                        congressional offices - that result in
unmanageable
                        demands on Congress...


                        .... most congressional offices have not yet
taken
                        advantage of the software to efficiently process
                        constituent e-mail. Most offices continue to
treat
                        e-mail like postal mail, replying with stamped
                        letters rather than e-mail. They resist upgrading
                        their e-mail practices, in part due to outdated
                        misconceptions they hold about the drawbacks of
                        e-mail. Most offices are responding the challenge
of
                        managing rapidly rising volumes with marginal
budget
                        increases by maintaining a communications status
                        quo.

                        ... Most offices on Capitol Hill could  handle
e-mail far better by            investing in more modern software packages and
more training for               their  Systems Administrators. More importantly,
offices
                        could handle e-mail much more efficiently by
better
                        using the hardware and software they already own.

                       ... Most congressional offices underestimate the
                        importance of constituent e-mail. The general
                        assumption is that e-mail messages are just quick
                        notes or unformed thoughts. Offices figure that
                        constituents will take the time to call or send a
                        longer letter about issues that deeply concern
them.
                        ***As a result, e-mail messages often receive
lower
                        priority in congressional offices than postal
mail
                        and phone calls.

                        According to a 1999 study by Juno Online
Services,
                        Inc. and e-Advocates, however, constituents do
not
                        view e-mail as less important than other modes of
                        communication. In fact, 93 percent of the
Internet
                        users surveyed stated that congressional offices
                        should treat e-mail messages as seriously as
calls
                        and letters. "
The full report is online at:
http://www.congressonlineproject.org/email.html

Linda

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