Badges will be awarded for every time a player achieves something. (For instance)
A player posts his first 10 forum posts = Writer badge.
A player friends 10 people = Friendship badge.
A player hits his first 6 months on the game= Elder badge.
Etc.
I believe this would be a good addition to the game, as it would distinguish an active player from an inactive player.
You can also have cube rewards (reward a certain amount of cubes per badge.)