Ingenio today announced Ether, a new voice-commerce application that enables the sale of services over the internet. Combining two of the most powerful communications tools, the phone and the internet, Ether allows those who have something valuable to say - consultants, therapists, accountants, online celebrities - to monetize phone conversations, the company said. "It creates a range of interesting e-commerce opportunities for experts who sell advice rather than products," according to Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.

A distributed (peer-to-peer) technology, Ether facilitates connections where sellers have already established trust with their audience, such as blogs, websites or talk-radio shows. Ether manages scheduling, communication, billing and payments between sellers and customers.

Ether also includes "Pay-to-View" functionality, which enables people to sell and deliver digital content such as documents, photos, computer code, podcasts or video. "Pay-to-View" combines both payment and product delivery; buyers can read a description of the digital content for sale on a website, but only view it after paying the seller-specified price.

"Ether's combination of phone advice plus the ability to charge for digital content opens up all kinds of possibilities for web users," said Michael Arrington of the TechCrunch blog. "By connecting people via calls or email and setting up a billing mechanism between the two parties, Ether's functionality is bringing something entirely new to the table."

Sellers visit www.ether.com to get an Ether Phone Number (1-888-MY-ETHER with a unique extension, such as 1234). The seller sets a rate that a customer must first pay before the call is forwarded to the seller's actual phone number - a cell, work, home, or SkypeIn number. Ether allows sellers the ability to charge for blocks of time spent on the phone - such as $75 per hour - rather than a per-minute pricing structure. The seller can also set a schedule of availability to ensure calls only come in during specified times.

Ether Phone Numbers are free. Sellers only pay a 15 percent commission after transactions successfully occur. Ether's commission covers all functionality, long-distance costs, and credit-card processing fees. There are no setup fees or monthly service charges.

"Whether it's health advice, tax help, computer support, or wine recommendations, Ether makes it simple for people to get paid for the time they spend sharing their unique insights and expertise," said Scott Faber, cofounder of Ingenio and general manager of the Ether division. "The key ingredients of today's economy are intellectual capital and time, and Ether provides a direct way to monetize them."