Best columns: Blogger bling, Saving winter

So you want to blog ...

“Bloggers create 900,000 blog posts a day worldwide,” says Michael Agger in Slate, and some of them even make money doing it. Blogs that get at least 100,000 unique visitors a month earn, on average, $75,000 a year, although that’s skewed by a small number bringing in more than $200,000. Still, last year the LOLcat empire brought in $5,600 a month and “gossip king” Perez Hilton pulled in $111,000 a month. Sounds, good, right? Well, first you have to get people to read your blog—the more clicks, the more cash. “In the wrong mind, that can lead to top-10 lists, recycled ideas, half-baked notions, lots of viral videos, and a general increase in information pollution.” Don’t be that blog: Write something worthwhile—the money might follow.

Save energy, save cash

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Winter is coming—literally and probably in financial terms, too, says Gwendolyn Bounds in The Wall Street Journal, and with energy prices rising, now’s a good time to look for ways to save power and save money. For years, experts have been pushing some small “eco steps” like swapping your upright freezer for a chest model and unplugging idle printers, TVs, and cellphones. “The good news: The little steps work.” You can save hundreds of dollars by those steps and others: washing more with cold water, switching to fluorescent lights, insulating heat leaks, and buying Energy Star appliances. And, with heating fuel costs set to rise 17 percent this winter, you might even consider going old-school: “return to the wood stove.”