I've talked with several entrepreneurs who believe in Skype Prime so much, they want to build a business around it.

Skype Prime, for those of you who haven't seen it, is a feature of the latest versions of Skype. It lets you charge a caller by the minute or by the call, Skype taking its cut (30%) after a clearing period (four months), rates subject to change. It's all in Beta testing at this point but should be huge.

So how do you make a Skype Prime directory when you're pretty sure Skype will operate their own hugely successful directory?

Leverage Skype's strength against them. Skype must, by definition, be generic, serving everyone. But you don't have to.

Niche. The point of a directory isn't to make a list. The point is to trigger useful, relevant conversations. To do that today you need rich contexts.

For example, create a marketplace for investment advice, if you think that's a growing service category (and you're passionate about the subject). Or "secretarial" services. Or podcasting.

In the podcasting business, for instance, you can offer richer, podcasting-specific profiles than Skype can. A service provider could show:

• links to podcasts they've worked on (a portfolio)
• whether they are on-air, business, production, or technical talent
• endorsements by happy clients, with ratings specific to the kind of work
• independent feedback by customers
• Prime billing rates for specific services (like podcast transcription or acoustic profile improvement or music clearance)
• Non-prime billing rates (in case you want to arbitrage)
• times of day and days of week they usually work (maybe even subscribing to public calendars to describe availability)
• tools they use
• certifications and memberships 
• syndication of their blog posts

You can use this information to foster public dialog about services, market rates (you will know, when nobody else will, what the market spread is for podcast voice-overs in Spanish this month), and podcast industry news.

With skill, you'll create community where Skype cannot follow. The public conversation should lead to richer search and trust for buyers. Then to private, paid, Prime conversations.

Not as easy as making a simple list, is it? If you want help, Skype me. My rates are...