Let Your Voice Be Heard!

Posted by ☆Jon Dean☆ · April 01, 2018 9:05 AM

Letter from the Chair - March

Posted by ☆Jon Dean☆ · March 02, 2018 4:24 AM

Happy Groundhog Day!

Posted by ☆Jon Dean☆ · February 02, 2018 4:19 AM

Utah is an excellent place to visit and an extraordinary place to live. The state captivates visitors and residents alike with its spectacular natural beauty, cultural offerings and year-round recreational opportunities. In some seasons in Utah, it is possible to ski, golf, snowmobile and water-ski on the same day! In addition to its extraordinary scenery, recreation and culture, Utah is safe, clean and affordable, creating exceptional quality of life for the state's residents.

In addition to the state's outdoor adventures, Utah residents enjoy world-class dining, spas, golf courses, shopping, historic sites, cultural centers, and year-round events.  Spectator sports enthusiasts can enjoy NBA basketball (Utah Jazz), AAA baseball (Salt Lake Bees), professional hockey (Utah Grizzlies), and major league soccer (Real Salt Lake), various collegiate sports teams (University of Utah and BYU) and visit the venues of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.   

Utah has a symphony, opera, ballet, museums, and galleries across the state showcasing compelling visual arts collections.  Its also home to Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival, Tony Award-winning Utah Shakespeare Festival, Moab Music Festival, Salt Lake Jazz Fest and many other world-class events year-round.  During the holidays, visitors can take in the thousands of lights on historic Temple Square. 

Salt Lake City in northern Utah serves as the state’s governmental, economic and cultural center. An international airport and two major interstate highways provide easy access and an award-winning bus and light rail system provides public transportation throughout the area. The Salt Lake and Provo areas are consistently listed as one of the most livable metropolitan areas in the US. Utah also offers rural communities within easy commuting distance of the metro area, as well as small towns away from it all. 

Whether you're searching for "the road less traveled" or the hustle and bustle of a major metropolitan city, Utah is one of the most exciting and dynamic places in the world.

WE STACK UP NICELY

•  #1 Best City For Commuters | Forbes 2010 - http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/12/best-worst-commutes-lifestyle-mass-transit_chart.html
•  #1 Economic Outlook | American Legislative Exchange Council 2013 - http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865580589/Utah-ranks-No-1-for-economic-outlook-for-sixth-year-in-a-row.html
•  #1 Best State to Live in the Future | Gallup Poll 2012 - http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/08/gallup-ranks-utah-best-state-to-live-in-the-future/1#.UlxjseA5v8s
•  #1 Best State for Business – 3^rd straight year! | Forbes 2012 - http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2012/12/12/utah-tops-list-of-the-best-states-for-business/
•  #1 Most Generous State in America | Philanthropy.com 2013 - http://philanthropy.com/article/Sharing-the-Wealth-How-the/133605/
•  #1 Best Town in America – Park City | Outside Magazine - http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-states/The-Best-Town-in-America-Park-City-Utah.html
•  #1 Gayest City in America | The Advocate 2012 - http://news.advocate.com/post/15571734525/gayest-cities-in-america-2012
•  #2 10 Best Cities to Find a Job | US News & World Report 2012 - http://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/10-best-cities-to-find-a-job/10
•  #2 Best Cities for Public Transportation | US News & World Report - http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/02/08/10-best-cities-for-public-transportation
• #2 Best Cities for Business and Careers - http://www.forbes.com/best-places-for-business/
• #4 Happiest State in America | Gallup Poll 2013 - http://www.nbcnews.com/business/americas-happiest-most-miserable-states-1C8627202
• World’s Best Ski Towns – Park City| National Geographic 2013 - http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-ski-towns-photos/#/park-city-utah_47318_600x450.jpg
• Top 10 States with Fastest Internet | Akami State of Internet Report 2013 - http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/07/23/204831506/see-the-10-states-with-the-fastest-internet-connections
• Most Charitable Cities in America (Top 3 cities in Utah!) | World Giving Index 2013 - http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/2013/most-generous-cities/

 ABOUT UTAH

•  All About Utah - http://www.utah.gov/about/
•  Why Visit Utah? - http://www.visitutah.com/media/why-visit-utah/
•  Things to do in Utah - http://www.utah.com/
•  SLC Downtown Alliance - http://www.downtownslc.org/
•  Park City - http://www.parkcity.org/
•  Office of Economic Development - http://business.utah.gov/
•  Downtown Rising - http://www.downtownrising.com/
•  Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce - http://www.slchamber.com/
•  Utah's Infrastructure - http://business.utah.gov/relocate/infrastructure/
•  NBA: Utah Jazz - http://www.nba.com/jazz/
•  Sundance Film Festival - http://www.sundance.org/festival/
•  Ski Utah: The Greatest Snow on Earth - http://www.skiutah.com/winter/index.html
•  Zion National Park - http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/zion.htm
•  2002 Olympics Park - http://utaholympiclegacy.com/
•  Event Listings in Utah - www.nowplayingutah.com

Join the Revolution.

The digital entertainment industry is changing faster than ever, led by new innovations and increasingly, new players; more States are developing competitive educational programs today, while entire countries are taking aggressive steps to secure the digital jobs of tomorrow. If we like living in Utah and working in digital entertainment, we're going to need to stay ahead of the field. But...

We're not competing.

Despite boasting a wealth of creative talent here, we only have a small number of entertainment businesses that make enough money to sustain and compete on the world stage. Despite our State being ranked as one of the best places in tech to do business, in entertainment we don't even make the list. 

This is not a whine. It's a call to action for YOU.

This is not a cry for a handout. We can't build a future based on incentives - think of them like gasoline: if you have a fire, they can make it boom. But if you just have a pile of wood then adding gasoline just makes that pile of wood damp!

WE need to be the sparks that make the flame.

UDEN is three years old. Our goal is to create a community of the creators of digital entertainment. We are making progress but it is slow and time is not our friend. We can't do this alone. We need ideas, plans and volunteers to deliver on those plans. And while we truly believe that our network meetings are important, we don't just want to be meeting organizers!

For 2018 our focus continues to be on augmented and virtual reality (AR, VR) technologies as we believe they offer significant opportunity for our existing creative and technical expertise as well as promise for economic growth in the global entertainment sector.  By working together and collaborating, we can have an unfair advantage.

See our latest news and member blogs here.

SUPPORT US. BE ACTIVE IN OUR COMMUNITY. ADVOCATE. BE A VOICE. 

We're UDEN - The Utah Digital Entertainment Network.

A non-profit, voluntary trade group for the creators of content and technology.  Founded by local industry professionals, run by local industry professionals.

• • • Overall, we aim to be a single voice for all of those involved in digital entertainment in Utah – films, games, education, technology and more.
    • There are many talented people here working in digital entertainment, but we’re doing so in small, disconnected networks
    • For a healthy ecosystem and vibrant future we need to build a community that is looking out for the entire sector, not just individual interest
    • With your help, UDEN can build this community here in Utah
    • Other entertainment areas attained success by becoming a community first that collaborated to create economic growth. New York, Montreal, Austin - all excellent examples
    • We won’t do this by replacing anything that already exists – on the contrary, we want to be additive – to help connect the dots between everything that already exists – companies, services, groups – and help them become stronger by being connected in the ecosystem – part of a wider community
    • We have regular membership meetings for networking, sharing and education - check out our UPCOMING EVENTS page for details of ours and other relevant gatherings for our community  

Thank-you!