A week ago I was trading blog posts with David Rachford about accoun­tants marketing their profes­sional services using MySpace. The discussion had resulted in both of us signing up with the mega-popular site in an effort to under­stand the potential opportunities.

Results are still out on that avenue, but out of the Web 2.0 ether, comes Ether. How it works, according to them, emphasis mine:

We all have something valuable to say. Whether you’re an accountant, a computer expert, a blogger, or a good gossiper, you can earn money selling what you say to others over the phone or through email.

Sounds like an inter­esting use for the new web. The step-by-step details:

1. You sign up on the site and set up an Ether phone number.
2. You set a price for your services, either per the hour or the minute.
3. You decide when you want to take calls.
4. Then you market your Ether phone number and people give you a call when they want to pay you for your knowledge.

Sounds pretty cool actually, and although I can’t see myself building a career out of something like this, I could see someone with some basic accounting knowledge (a bookkeeper, perhaps) selling it to those who need the information.

What do you think?