Rather than starting off the week with a post about the latest happenings within digital sport (you can get that with this post about NUFC and their Twitter relaunch), I wanted to put something together that is a bit closer to home.  Anyone I have met or been to a recent event will know that I’ve been getting VERY excited about what is happening behind-the-scenes at UKSN.

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been working full-time on the website and events since the end of last summer.  Putting together partnerships, new events and ideas during that time whilst still paying the bills with some consultancy work.

One of the areas I’ve been spending a lot of time on is the website.  The current site design has not changed in over 4 years, a point I’m sure that has not gone un-noticed by regular visitors.  Aside from tinkering with the widgets and images there is little for me to do, especially with my lack of coding skills (something I hope to rectify in time).

There are two main points I’ve been looking to address;

1.  The Name

UK Sports Network was set up as just that when I started it on LinkedIn in November 2009.  But does it actually provide the right indication as to what it is and what we actually talk about?  No, I don’t think it does.  Thus I’ve been looking to go down a different route, starting with the events.

You may have noticed they are not called UK Sports Network or UKSN anything. They are called Digital Sport London, Digital Sport Glasgow, etc.  The reason for this is that it is the direction in which I am taking the business (and yes it’s maturing into a business now).

The new name, Digital Sport, will be reflected in a new domain name, look and feel to the site.  I want to open it up to be not only UK based content but the latest news and opinions from around the world.

2.  The Site

It seems like everything has changed in the world except for the site!  I’m proud to look back and see how far UKSN has come in a relatively short time, especially as for most of it it’s been a hobby.

It is said that standing still is a sure-fire way for a business to fail, and it has been time for a new site for quite a while now.  I’ve been lucky enough to be able to get to know some of the most exciting tech start-ups within the sports space. Opening up possibilities in working with that tech to deliver cutting-edge solutions.

More will be revealed soon (including who we’re doing it with) but the plan is for the new Digital Sport site to be up and running before the end of next month.  Trust me, it’s going to look amazing and will be available to view on desktop, mobile and tablet – so you’ll be able to get all your news on the move.

The site will not only provide a new, slicker experience but also greater depth and amount of content as well.  There will still be articles written by myself and guest contributors, BUT there will also be links to other relevant articles around the web, video’s, Vine’s and great images.

Basically, we’ll be providing a one-stop shop for all your digital media and sport needs in one place. A ‘Digital Sport Hub‘. This will be the first step in a whole bunch of new ideas designed to help you in your day-to-day roles within digital and sport.  The events are going to get bigger and better, research projects will begin and providing you access to more information a priority.

We’ve already started that process with events in Glasgow (19th March) and Manchester (17th April), as well as London events in collaboration with Sunset+Vine (24th March) and Aqueduct (22nd April).  Keep your eyes peeled for more, different events in the coming months.

So while it’s sad that UKSN will be no more, it’s also an extremely exciting time to be working on this.  This has been a passion of mine for the last 4 years and I’m determined to see it grow for the next 4+ years as well.

Thank you to everyone who has ever read an article on here and been along to an event.  Without you this opportunity would not exist and I’m humbled by how lucky I am for that.