2013 is turning out to be the year of the cloud and as such, InfoStreet, creator of SkyDesktop, is giving cloud users a chance to win a $200 gift card from Amazon!

The rules are simple and all you need is a Twitter account. To enter, make sure to follow @InfoStreet on Twitter and then send us a tweet starting with “@InfoStreet, I use the cloud to....” to be entered for a chance to win. In your tweet, let us know what you use your cloud for. Do you use the cloud to check mail? Schedule appointments? Manage projects? The opportunities are endless with the cloud.

The Prize: $200 Amazon Gift Card

Deadline: The contest ends at 5PM PST Friday, May 10.

Good luck!

This contest is being hosted with the help of Interactwive, a social contest app that makes hosting Twitter contests a breeze. Check out how you can host your own Twitter contests at www.interactwive.com.

These Official Rules and Guidelines govern your participation in “@InfoStreet-I use the cloud to…”(Promotion), sponsored by InfoStreeet, Inc. (Sponsor).

NO ENTRY FEE. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO PLAY OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Promotion ends: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 5:00 PM PST

1. Promotion Dates

The Promotion starts on Monday May 6, 2013 and runs through May 10, 2013 at 5:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. (Promotion Period).

2. Eligibility and How to Enter

The Promotion is open to any person that follows InfoStreet on twitter and tweets “@InfoStreet, I use the cloud to [describing their cloud use] within the promotional period, and is 18 years or older. This Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, provincial, state and municipal laws and regulations and is void where prohibited.

Employees of Sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, their immediate family members and persons living in their same household, are not eligible to participate in the Promotion. By entering, participants acknowledge compliance with these Official Rules and Guidelines (Official Rules), including eligibility requirements, and the decisions of the Sponsor and/or its agents as final. The Promotion may be entered as follows: On twitter, follow @InfoStreet and then send a tweet describing how you use the cloud, starting with the words, “@InfoStreet, I use the cloud to “

3. Prizes and Drawing

All Promotion entries meeting the requirements of these Official Rules will be entered into a random drawing to be held on or about May 13th, 2013.

The winner will be notified by the contact information on twitter.

If, any winner fails to claim a prize or, where applicable, an affidavit of eligibility and publicity/liability release is not timely received, is incomplete or modified, the prize may be forfeited and no alternate winner will be selected from remaining valid eligible entries. Winners meeting all the eligibility requirements can expect to receive their prize within 4 weeks of the end of the promotion.

In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner based on an e-mail or twitter address, the winning entry will be declared made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail or twitter address submitted at time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the first natural person who is assigned a twitter account by Twitter or to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

Total value of Grand Prize is $200 (U.S.)

The odds of winning a prize depend on the total number of eligible entries. No substitution, transfer or return of prizes is permitted. Sponsor may, at its sole discretion, substitute a prize for cash or a prize of equal or greater value.

4. Legal

Sponsor may require winners to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, a liability release, and (where lawful) a publicity release as a condition of receiving the prize. This Promotion is subject to all applicable federal, provincial, state and municipal laws and regulations. Each winner acknowledges and agrees that it will be the winner’s sole obligation to report all federal, provincial, state and municipal income, and to pay all taxes related thereto, for all prizes received from Sponsor pursuant to this Promotion, if applicable. These rules govern all aspects of the Promotion and are binding on all participants. Each winner agrees to indemnify Sponsor and hold it harmless to the extent any obligations are imposed by law on Sponsor to pay any applicable federal, provincial, state and municipal taxes or similar items in connection with any cash award made to the winner by Sponsor.

Sponsor and its agencies will not be responsible for: (a) any failure, error or interruption in any communication, transmission, network, or computer, or for any other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical or electronic; (b) illegible, incomplete, late, lost, damaged, destroyed, delayed, postage due, or misdirected entries, responses, claim forms, or other correspondence, (c) any losses, liabilities, or damages of any kind, including but not limited to bodily injury and death, arising in connection with or as a result of any prize or any person’s acceptance, possession, or use thereof, or from participation in the Promotion or for any condition caused by or events beyond Sponsor’s control that may cause the Promotion to be disrupted or corrupted; or (d) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Promotion. Once submitted, entries become the sole property of Sponsor and will not be returned. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Promotion in the event of fraud, technical or other difficulties or if the integrity of the Promotion is compromised without liability to the Participants. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify anyone suspected of falsifying any submitted information, acting in a fraudulent or deceptive manner or violating these Official Rules in any respect. Participants may not make any warranty or representation on behalf of Sponsor, nor make any representation or statement whatsoever regarding the Promotion that is inconsistent with the information published by Sponsor.

IN NO EVENT WILL SPONSOR AND ITS PARENT COMPANIES, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES, ADVERTISING, PROMOTION AND FULFILLMENT AGENCIES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LIABILITIES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF YOUR ENTRY IN, AND PARTICIPATION, IN THE PROMOTION OR THE DOWNLOADING AND/OR PRINTING OF MATERIAL ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROMOTION. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, EVERYTHING ON THE PROMOTION WEB SITE AND IN THIS PROMOTION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

By participating in the Promotion, each Participant agrees to be bound by the Promotion Official Rules. Participants also agree to release and hold Sponsor and the employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents, representatives of Sponsor, its parent companies, affiliates and subsidiaries harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with the Promotion or resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of any prize, including without limitation, personal injury, death, and property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy.

5. Additional Terms

Except where prohibited, by accepting any prize, winner consents to the use of his/her name, photo and/or likeness, biographical information, winning entry and statements attributed to winner (if true) for advertising and promotional purposes without additional compensation.

6. Winner’s List, Official Rules

For a list of prize winners or a copy of these Official Rules, send your request and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to , “@InfoStreet, I use the cloud to” Promotion to InfoStreet, Inc. or (for winner’s list only) send an e-mail to suppor@infostreet.com with “Winner’s List” as the e-mail subject and contest name specified in the body of the e-mail.

The ‘@InfoStreet, I use the cloud to” Promotion is sponsored by InfoStreet, Inc., U.S.A.

Let’s get a few facts straight: managing listings, contracts, and mounds of paperwork is no small feat. Paperwork is generally no fun no matter where you’re at, but with real estate, it’s particularly brutal because time plays a huge role in turning a lead into a sale. Send in an offer an hour too late and your clients will miss out on their dream home. So, you need a solution that’s fast and allows for change. SkyDesktop is that solution.

SkyDesktop gives you access to all of your information no matter where you are so you can easily handle business without missing a beat. You can pick and choose apps and you can even personalize it! Since it’s affordable as well, you never need to go out and spend your hard-earned cash on expensive software that will sit on your office desktop. All you need is a device with an Internet browser to access all your information whenever and wherever.

Curious how using SkyDesktop will help your real estate company function better than ever before? Check out below for helpful apps offered by SkyDesktop that can help you sell homes with the Cloud.

Scheduling is a Breeze

The life of a Realtor® is a busy one and you could easily forget important events and appointments. A forgotten appointment is a lost opportunity, an empty house, and a disappointed customer. With Cloud scheduling apps like Appointy, or SandGlaz, most of your scheduling woes are put to rest. Do you want to change an appointment or notify a client of your availability for an open house? No problem! Appointy sends automated text messages or calls to your clients to remind them of a future meeting. If you want more collaboration between your team, SandGlaz even allows for a collaborative function so you can share tasks with your team and keep your to-do list updated. Do it from home, work, or even sitting in the parking lot. Wherever you need to do business, the Cloud will be there.

Organize for Success

In addition to eliminating scheduling nightmares, most Cloud software also offers tools and options for organizing your paperwork. You no longer need to dig through the Mount Kilimanjaro of paperwork sitting in your office. SkyDesktop offers apps like Toast Invoicing and Sign In Blue, allowing you to cut down on the paperwork that piles up in corners and on desks. Both can send documents instantly wherever they need to go and receives them just as quick. With these apps, you can cut the time between submitting offers and sending paperwork in half. No longer will your outbox be overflowing!

Stay in Touch

While speed is important, success really lies in how happy you make your clients. You sell one couple their dream house, they tell three friends, they tell more, and so on. Happy customers equal more houses sold. Staying in touch with your customers before and after they buy their dream home is extremely important, and there are plenty of apps for that. Take Plan Genius for example, which lets you quickly follow up with clients with automated, personalized follow-ups on a regular schedule. It’s easy to use with a drop-click interface so you can adjust your schedule to however you see fit.

Share Your Money Maker

Everyone’s on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ nowadays, and you probably are too! There’s a great amount of potential in using social media to promote your business. Want to tell everyone about the five bedroom, three-bathroom mansion with the custom pool that you just listed? Many of the Cloud apps offered by SkyDesktop like PlanGenius allow you to start that conversation, meaning you can both promote your business as well as keep in contact with your customers and prospects through various social media outlets. You can even send updates directly from your phone.

More for Less

Of course the best has been saved for last: all of this Cloud-based software is affordable! Now you can decide what to buy and you don’t have to empty out your coffers to afford it. If you’re an independent Realtor® or a small firm, having advanced and affordable software at your fingertips means you can run with the big dogs. And the Cloud isn’t limited to just small businesses; even larger firms can use Cloud apps to help simplify, manage, and cut back on costs. Everyone wins with the Cloud!

In conclusion, with so many different apps giving you so many options, you can now make your real estate business run smoother and simpler, which will allow you to do what you do best: help folks find homes and build dreams.