Yehuda Berlinger

The psychological experience of using the Internet is undergoing slow but constant change. Up until now, using the Web has involved "going out" to Web sites. However, this is changing. Understanding this transformation, and plotting its direction, can provide us with a new understanding of where our Web technology is going. This destination can be called "Web 3.0." Underneath the Hood Very little of the core protocols that define how the Internet works have changed over the last twenty years. What has changed, and very slowly, are some basic hardware upgrades and the software interfaces we use to transfer information. These gradual, almost superficial changes, have done little to change what the Internet actually does from a technological perspective, but have greatly altered our perception of the "Internet experience". Computers and Telephone Lines The Internet is co... (more)

Introduction to Eurogames - Presentation for Board Game Studies Colloquium 2009

Here is my first draft for a speech I will be giving on Wed at the Board Game Studies Colloquium 2009 in Jerusalem. The audience members are top board game scholars from around the world and some top movers in gaming in Israel. My speech is not exactly academic, but aims at some level of expertise, at least. One thing that worries me is that it's a pretty boring speech. Any comments and suggestions are welcome! After finalizing the speech, I will work on a PowerPoint presentation to go along with it. -- The Eurogame Revolution In the last century there have been some, but not many,... (more)

How to Get a Professional Corporate Blogging Job

The Secrets of Corporate Blogging I would like to begin with defining what corporate blogging is. There are actually four types of blogs that can be considered corporate blogs; I will list these definitions later. For now, suffice to say that I am most interested in corporate blogging as “professional blogging on behalf of a company”. So first I have to explain: what is professional blogging? And to do that, I first have to explain: what is blogging? What is Blogging? A casual definition of blogging is writing articles and then posting them online so that they can be accessed chron... (more)

Planning a New Game Session at Work: Diplomacy

I'm planning a new game session for work. In the last session, I introduced 11 coworkers, none of them gamers, to the joys of Pit, Apples to Apples, and Haggle. I interspersed games with short history and cultural information about tabletop games in general and these games in particular. They asked me to do another one. This time, the criteria was: 15 people, more cerebral, more group activities (not individuals, and not only two teams), and up to two hours. I asked on the Geek for some suggestions, but before I even got any, I knew what I wanted to run: Diplomacy. Now, Diplomacy h... (more)

Day One of the Board Game Studies 2009 Colloquium

The conference was allegedly scheduled to start at 9:00 with reception and signing in, and the first lecture to start at 9:45. Strangely, when I arrived at around 9:30, the introduction to the conference by Gadi Kfir had already taken place and the first lecture was underway. Until lunch break, all the sessions started and ended earlier than scheduled. The Attendees I will tell you about the people I know, or know of: Gadi Kfir, the organizer of the conference, is an expert on Israeli board games in the early twentieth century. Dr Irving Finkel is curator of ancient Mesopotamian clay... (more)