These days, my head is in the cloud. More and more companies are rolling out cloud computing solutions and applications. On the consumer level, it's getting easier and easier for documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, calendars, presentations, you name it, to live in the ether somewhere above the hard drive, always on and always accessible. Way cool, and an emerging opportunity for advertisers and marketers to push relevant, contextual messages to cloud computing users.

Do you Twitter? The micro-blogging phenomenon appears to be mid-tipping point, having spilled over from the developer/tech community into the general populace. Well, into the marketing community anyway. Agency execs are there, as are ad rag reporters , and yes, a bunch of ClickZ writers and editors. )See feeds for Rebecca Lieb , Erin Brenner , Pete Blackshaw ,

News just dropped that Organic CEO Mark Kingdon has flown the coop to join Second Life developer Linden Lab. Congrats to Mark, a longtime friend of ClickZ, and here's hoping he can help marketers wrap their brains around the virtual world - something that hasn't exactly panned out so far.

There's no question consumers like the ease of e-commerce. But the Internet still can't replace the demo nature of brick and mortar. A salesperson can sell by demonstration. This is true especially when it comes to categories such as hardware and power tools. Both on its on site, and on its e-commerce partner sites, DeWalt has built demos for its power tool products through a technology partner Easy2 Technolgies. Users click on the demo to get a pop-up window,

Whether you're worried about global warming or rising fuel costs, Earth Day has gained a new generation of supporters. Started in 1970 as a grassroots movement to promote environmental conservation, Earth Day years later took a back seat to gas guzzling SUVs. Fast forward to 2008. Even Chevy Tahoe is promoting its hybrid model at AOL.com today. And, organizations buying the keywords, "Earth Day," on Google today included TCP Inc. , the maker of compact fluorescent lights,

Just when you thought there were enough interactive advertising task forces, councils, and advisory groups, here's the latest. Break Media, an online community for men and an ad network, has decided there's more to life - and business - than hot women, gear, and gossip. That includes the all mighty dollar and figuring out how to calculate online video advertising's return on investment. The company,

It's odd to see a major ad campaign, even a cause-based one, pay its way with donations. But that's exactly how the "We" ad campaign, courtesy of the Alliance for Climate Protection, is going about it. ) Check out ClickZ's coverage of the digital side .( Al Gore has pledged his Nobel Peace Prize winnings to the group, which he chairs, along with his earnings from hit documentary "An Inconvenient Truth.

How's this for cool? I'll be interviewing the one-and-only Arianna Huffington, political pundit extraordinaire and HuffingtonPost co-founder at tomorrow evening's 212 Interactive Ad Club event! Expect a lively talk on online political advertising and related issues )and a standing room only crowd(. As you probably know, in our Campaign '08 section, ClickZ is dedicated to following what the presidential campaigns are doing online, particularly when it comes to advertising.

Kate Kaye, who joined ClickZ in March 2006, has been promoted to senior editor. At ClickZ, Kate launched a special section, Campaign '08 , devoted to covering how the presidential candidates have integrated interactive into their campaign advertising and marketing mix. As part of her ongoing dedication to covering online political advertising,

In a first, the number of Internet users in China has surpassed the United States. China had more than 220 million users as of February, according to a report in USA Today. The United States had 214 million at the end of 2007. There's still lots of room for China's Internet usage to grow; it has a population of 1.3 billion compared to 304 million in the United States.

The flurry leading up to ad:tech prompted a bit of a rant last week about best practices for marketing to the media. That discussion will continue in a much broader context next week at the New Comm Forum in Sonoma, CA. SEO PR expert Sally Falkow and I will be discussing the opportunities - and the threats - that online media, search, and the social Web are presenting to the media and other communications professionals. If you make it to the conference,

Rebecca Lieb announced today that she will leave her post as editor-in-chief of the ClickZ Network to pursue independent opportunities in the interactive marketing industry. She will remain with CZ as an editorial consultant. Rebecca, a sought after speaker and commentator, has been an influential voice in the marketing industry for years.

Google decided its Web site optimization tool will stand apart from its AdWords platform. Previously, someone using Google Website Optimizer had to sign up for an AdWords account, although advertising on AdWords wasn't required. The change, announced yesterday, appears to be intended to give the free tool its own identity and encourage Web designers and others to use it - not just interactive advertisers or marketers. Like before,

George Kliavkoff, chief digital officer for NBC Universal, said the company's digital properties are on track to generate $1 billion in revenue this year, up 40 percent from 2007. Speaking this morning at ad:tech SF , Kliavkoff said "a lot" comes from ad sales, though a portion represents theme park and other ticket sales. Operating profit is increasing 50 percent, year over year, he said. On another front,

Pete Blackshaw is one of three Internet marketing pioneers given an industry achievement award last night at ad:tech SF . Blackshaw, a ClickZ columnist , is EVP, strategic services for Nielsen Online, a combination of Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a firm Pete helped co-found, and Nielsen/NetRatings. "Let's stay credible, let's stay trusted, and let's keep the consumer front and center in what we do," he said upon receiving the award.

Eastman Kodak's Jeffrey W. Hayzlett doesn't mince his words when he discusses the 128-year-old's company changing business model and marketing approach. As the sale of digital cameras took off, Kodak saw the revenue from film sales slide. So, the company had to reinvent itself. In one major change in its product lineup, Kodak sells a photo printer with low cost ink refills that cost $9.99 per cartridge )black( and $14.

Don't look now Ma, but your favorite soap's about to run its first ad for DogShoes.com. Google has confirmed it will soon offer its TV Ads program, in trial mode since it launched a year ago , to all U.S. advertisers. In the next few weeks, AdWords customers large and small will be offered a shot at the broadcast glitz, complete with production referrals for those lacking TV-ready video assets.

U.S. based lead-gen network Q Interactive has announced that it is extending its operations to the U.K., and has engaged a London-based staff. The firm's TrueLeads service gathers consumer contact information from partner sites )by consent(, and passes this on to marketers for sales and CRM purposes. The move will seek to continue the company's U.S. success in a "rapidly expanding U.K. market," according to Q Interactive President and CEO Matt Wise.

Interactive budgets are growing way faster in Europe than they are in the U.S. ZenithOptimedia forecasts spending will accelerate approximately 95 percent in Western Europe between 2007 and 2010, compared with 40 percent here. Central and Eastern European ad spending will grow even faster. So it's ever more important for U.S. based agencies to develop strong footholds there, especially as the economy flags this side of the Atlantic.

McCain remains the clear frontrunner in paid search, and Clinton isn't spending much at all. While more Web users from all political persuasions searched for "Barack Obama" than "Hillary Clinton" or "John McCain," McCain is still number one in paid search. According to a new iCrossing report , McCain's camp spent an estimated 60 percent of the total spent by the three top presidential candidates. Obama came in with 25 percent and Clinton an estimated 15 percent.