Heh, is it just me or is there going to be some major competition in the amateur directory niche? I've only been here a few weeks but I see various new blog directories (which I notice most of all of course) as well as a zillion other new directories. Is this segment going to implode soon... ?
Give it time, people will close their sites and or stop updating them. The real test is who's still online a few months from now. Only down side is for every one that closes some one else will start a new one. The only way to really do well is to just make a directory that stands out and through the test of time. Also a high PR doesn't hurt either .
It's the same thing that is happening to the rest of the internet: the bar to entry has been lowered, so that almost anybody can have a go. But just as blogs have not brought an end to major news sources, so small directories will not overwhelm the larger ones. Setting up a directory is considerably less than half the battle. Building, maintaining and promoting one is what really sorts out the serious competition from the also-rans.