Well, this is interesting. While the rest of the world was
ogling over what's coming down the pipe from Google, Steam
introduced collectible virtual trading cards that you can earn
by playing games, and trade in for bragging rights and prizes.
Sound odd? Sure, but it's also rather neat. Steam Trading Cards
are currently in beta, and themed after the few games that
support them. You earn cards by playing the participating games,
though you can only earn about half of a game's total card set
on your own. You'll need to collect the rest of the set by
bartering with friends or other Steam users.  Here's where
things get interesting (and potentially valuable): complete a
set of cards, and you can craft them into a game badge. These
badges can be displayed on your Steam profile, but you'll also
earn random goodies like backgrounds for your Steam profile and
(more lucratively) coupons for DLC and discounts on Steam games.
These collectible cards can be sold on Steam's Community Market,
and as of the last hour virt