Two hundred million dollars. This is one of those 'odometer moments' that remind me of being a kid and eagerly awaiting our 1963 Volkswagon beetle's odometer to flip over to all zeros after reaching 99,999 miles, wondering what would happen — only to look the other way and miss it.

In our excitement, the cubicle dwellers here at Elance HQ have a friendly wager on who can predict when the “Provider Earnings” counter officially flips over the $200,000,000 mark. (The 'smart' money appears to be on Thursday, June 18, but don't take my word for it.)

With this milestone, we're announcing to the world the official arrival of ‘Cloud Commuting.' This is no longer 'the future of work' as online work is happening now. Let’s focus on the underlying importance of this event. Think of it: $200 million, earned for work delivered from one stranger to another.

Three big trends have converged to make this all happen.

1. Companies are constantly seeking greater flexibility and efficiency
2. More professionals than ever are choosing to be self-employed
3. Managing online work has become easier than ever with the evolution of the Elance Work System.

In short, working patterns have changed. More than 60,000 businesses now use online contractors on Elance as their preferred alternative to traditional staffing. Elance delivers to these companies a flexible and cost-effective way to hire, manage and pay independent professionals and service firms online.

These new work patterns are also changing the way skilled workers think about the way they work, attracted by the draw of being independent and choosing when and where to work.

If you’ve been part of this first $200 million, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t been part of it yet, don’t worry — there’s a lot more where that came from. In fact, a recent article I saw on CNNMoney that cites that fully 30% of the United States work force are independent contractors, part-timers or freelancers, growing to 40% by the end of the next decade.

Time to start the pool for when the counter hits $1 billion. Are you in?