Johnson's "E-mail Overload"

Dennis Johnson begins his chapter on "e-mail overload" by telling us the pitfalls of e-mail (from the impersonation of Congress members, to the difficulty of screening out non-constituents, to more "gravitas" being accorded to paper correspondence). But by the end of his chapter, with Bill Frist providing the public crucial information in the wake of 9/11, it's clear that the benefits outweigh the risks - especially with more sophisticated software.

I've been hearing for a while now, and Johnson re-iterated this, that it's better to write something original than copy what an advocacy organization gives you (though, the other common advice - that hand written correspondence is the best - seems to be falling by the wayside, as Johnson seems to suggest). That always makes me feel guilty, since I often rely on the research on a particular issue that an advocacy organization I trust has done to produce a suggested e-mail. To be honest, I also don't want to take the time to write my own. I hope I still have some impact, with my "canned" e-mails. If anyone who works on the Hill has any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear it.