At the TechCrunch party where Scoble and Israel launched “Naked Conversations,” I wound up chatting for a while with two guys from a company called Ether. We started out talking about the music recommendation service Pandora. I was trying it out (love it, by the way) and the Ether guys were standing next to the table where the Pandora demo was on display.

After a bit of music talk, I asked about Ether. “We can’t tell you,” they said, almost in unison and harmony. The project was very close to launch and they were playing their cards very close to the vest. In subsequent emails, we set up a meeting next week and Rob Hirson, the Ether product guy, said he’d check in with me at the New Communications Forum, which he planned to attend.

Ether launched last night, and I must admit to being intrigued. The idea is simple, based on the fact that your advice has worth and that you can assign a per-hour dollar amount to that worth. Once you sign up, Ether assigns you a phone number. You put some code on your website or blog inviting people to contact you through your Ether number in order to buy some of your time. The call is routed by Ether to your regular phone number (which is not displayed). The call automatically results in the fee being deducted from the caller’s credit card. Ether collects a cut and the rest is transferred to you.

Like so many of us out there, I’m a consultant. Most of my work is project-oriented, but I do spend some time on the phone consulting at my hourly rate. Usually this happens by chance. Somebody calls and asks if I’m available at a fee to consult over the phone. With Ether, I can promote that service right on my site. I’m not sure how many clients or prospects will spontaneously pay for consulting, but it’s an intriguing enough idea that I might just give it a try.

Even more intriguing is the notion that non-consultants with expertise can suddenly get paid for the advice they’ve been giving away, just by adding the info to their blogs or sites.

More on Ether at TechCrunch; as I understand it, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington is involved in this startup, as he is with Edgeio. Ether has a blog, too.

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