Rob McKenna
OLYMPIA -- The original definition of "blogging" looked to be further undermined yesterday when Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna published his office's first effort. Aimed at the state's concerned consumers and titled "All Consuming", the blog (or "blawg," McKenna insists, due to its legal focus) will focus on consumer issues high on the AG's agenda. Yesterday's inaugural posting, entitled "Drive down auto theft with high-tech deterrents," was aimed at car buyers and sellers. Future postings will deliver scam warnings and consumer alerts and will respond to readers' e-mails, McKenna promised. "A blog gives us an opportunity to communicate in a new, in-the-moment way to an Internet-savvy audience," McKenna stated in a press release yesterday. "Check out 'All Consuming' for consumer-friendly advice that is anything but stuffy, dry or boring." McKenna's reputation as an Internet-literate attorney general took a hit last month when online "phishing" scammers high-jacked his e-mail ListServ, LegalNewsLine reported. Some subscribers may have been duped into revealing personal banking information. Nonetheless, McKenna has also pioneered attacking internet-based computer fraud, LegalNewsLine has also reported. He has so far racked up two settlements and three new arrests in 2007 under Washington's two-year-old Computer Spyware Act. Mastering the blogosphere may be a whole other ball of wax for McKenna's beaver-busy PR staff, however. Yesterday's entry introduces its topic with the following paragraph: "Since our Consumer Resource Centers and Lemon Law staff together handle thousands of consumer calls each year regarding car sales and repairs, it seemed appropriate to devote this first week to information relevant to auto owners and buyers." Between one-quarter and one-third of all U.S. Internet users read weblogs, McKenna's statement noted.