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Microsoft replaces Google to offer advt solutions for Digg
MUMBAI: Microsoft Corp has replaced Google and become exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising for Digg, a web site that lets readers recommend articles to others. The three year agreement is aimed to help Microsoft to get a stronger hold on the growing online advertising market. According to online audience measurement firm Hitwise Inc, Digg is one of the most-visited web site for technology news, and the agreement will help it focus on improving its site without having to create its own sales to sell banner advertising. “Our collaboration with Digg is about bringing our advertising technology and sales force to one of the fastest-growing sites on the web and a true innovator in user generated content,” said Microsoft Online Services Group SVP Steve Berkowitz. Microsoft and Federated Media Publishing, Digg‘s current advertising partner, also plan to collaborate to bring integrated programs to Digg‘s users and advertisers, informed an official release. “As the Digg audience continues to grow and diversify, we believe that this initiative with Microsoft, and the resources that it provides, will enable us to focus less on developing an advertising infrastructure and more on developing new and innovative features for the site”, said Digg CEO Jay Adelson. Digg has an estimated 17 million visitors a month and is positioned as a site which challenges the long-held journalistic assumption that editors know best what people want to read and allows readers to ‘digg‘ or vote for a story to push up its rankings.
“Federated Media has unique advertising sales assets that
dovetail with our efforts, and we look forward to working with them,” Berkowitz said.
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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.
