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Facebook ties up with ET to offer live budget feeds
MUMBAI: The Economic Times, ET Now and economictimes.com have joined hands with the social networking site Facebook, to let users share their thoughts with the finance minister regarding the Union Budget for the financial year 2010-11.
The new initiative, ‘ET-Facebook: Talk to FM’, will give users an opportunity to post their views/suggestions, which ET will present to the FM.
With the initiative, users will not only post their expectations with the budget but also their views/suggestions after the presentation of the Budget by logging on to the economic times website.
Speaking about the strategic alliance, Times Internet Limited CEO Rishi Khiani said, “We are happy to associate with Facebook – it‘s a unique win-win association between the social networking site and business news portal. We are pioneering popular participation in the preparation of the Budget while providing realtime feedback to the Finance Minister from the vox populi.”
“All over the world, people use Facebook to start and engage in discussions about things that are important to them. By powering this program with Facebook Connect, the Economic Times is helping provide people in India an easy way to take part in and express their views on the National Budget discussions.” said Facebook VP of User Growth, Mobile and International Chamath Palihapitiya.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
