Ideas

Well I can see how this is helpful if either party is short on cash... but lining up a direct trade would be tough. And if you offer some sort of currency to facilitate in-equal matchups or 3-way-trades... well that's just money. Really the ONLY criticism I have is that money is just so much more convenient then lining up a service swap where the services have equal value.

I agree with Gordon's comment that matching up direct swaps will be difficult, but I think there's an important difference between any 'currency' earned on a site like this and real money. Both Joe and Jane had the problem that they had no disposable income, whereas a system like this could hopefully allow them to get their foot on the ladder without spending any real money. I'd recommend keeping barter tokens completely separate from real money anyway - otherwise there really is no difference to simply paying for services.

The real problem with allowing anything other than direct swaps is judging their value in absolute rather than relative terms...

no, i think this really has potential.

Money is more convenient, universally agreed on and has not time restrictions.

Well, am neutral to this one. I understand the idea at the same time agree with others on money. Your intention may be philanthropic (not exactly charity) but these kind of initiaitves need external motivational methods. Further, many sites do this kind of services but in a remote way. So, the key here is diffrentiator that can be motivating enough for user at the same time generate some revenue of sort.

Thanks for the replies so far guys.

First - I'm not saying that this is necessarily BETTER than money, but the fact is that not all of us have much disposable income, so if a good idea comes along we haven't got a way to capitalize on it.

Regarding an in-site currency, I had thought about it before posting but was undecided. Certainly if I did have 'trade credits' on the site, they would NOT be exchangable for real money.

My main concern regarding barter tokens, as Philip called them, was that people would pay for a job using them and then simply open up a new account and start all over again, leading to some kind of hyper-inflation which would render the whole system worthless.

A possible solution might be if only groups (people who vouched for each other) could have their own currencies. That would dramatically reduce the chances of an in-house currency system being abused. It might also be worth considering giving the group leader the power to determine the relative value of the jobs posted/requested.

Any more thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated.

This is a pretty intersting idea. Barter trading is not dead yet. There is an entire trading community out there that specializes in trading bartered goods - and most of the times not against money but other goods. If that is still a viable way of doing business in the real world, it should find a following on the internet, too. There is no prohibition against bartering services. The internet lends itself to play a supporting role for such an exchange, since pooling of information is so easy.

http://www.bartercard.com.au/

Siddey, could you elaborate?

I'd heard of BC before, but as far as I can tell, Bartercard and my idea have only the most superficial things in common. They are completely different services, targeting completely different markets.

Whats your best feature again?

this seems god but why only for IT professional?

Myla - its primarily for IT professionals and other ancillary services (writing, translation etc.) because they are so easy to transfer online.

I would rather have the cash and then use a portion to pay for something I need. I have found people (doing something for me) work better when they are getting paid. Other then that it is a hobby :)

The idea of groups is an interesting one, and if it's well thought-out and implemented it could be what sets this idea apart. People do naturally form interest groups and communities online, and the members of such a group are likely to have interests in common (and hence skills to swap) and to trust each other. If I were you I'd go away and think about best to implement something like this.

I am going to have to agree with Gordon. Money is a lot easier to deal with. When services and goods are traded one party in the trade always seems to get a better deal.

Sounds like it would make an excellent Facebook application. PM me if you want to try to implement this in Facebook.

Barter trade is great, but why not make it more down to earth? People trade money, period.

I can see lots of potential in your idea, but my thoughts are less divine. The excess of supply (time and talent to perform services / produce products) is common anywhere in the world. Why not just create a site where when one needs professionals, one can post the need, and someone will contact the person for services? Or someone can [post their resume, and build their reputation (rating?) on the site through providing services to other members?

"Professionals for hire" - This kind of model is common in Asia, but I haven't seen it in the US yet...