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Shekhar Kapur to speak at X|Media|Lab’s Melbourne conference in August
MUMBAI: X|Media|Lab will host a conference titled ‘Digital Worlds: Social, Virtual, Mobile‘ in from 10 – 12 August in Melbourne and among the line up of speakers is filmaker and Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation (Mumbai/London) co-founder Shekhar Kapur. Kapur is returning to X|Media|Lab after being an International Mentor at the recent X|Media|Lab in Mumbai. “Digital media companies will have access to some of the sharpest industry minds in the world during X|Media|Lab ‘Digital Worlds: Social, Virtual, Mobile‘ conference at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), August 10 – 12, Melbourne,” said the Victorian treasurer and minister for innovation John Brumby in Melbourne. Also attending X|Media|Lab Melbourne “Digital Worlds” is a delegation from the Cyber Recreation District in Beijing, which includes the president and CEO, the chairman, and VP of Technology. The CRD is the biggest digital media industry development project in China. “This is a tremendous opportunity for Victoria‘s digital media companies to expand their networks with China and India, and to work one-on-one with a range of the world‘s digital media power-brokers,” he said. The 2007 Melbourne Lab is looking for ten projects along the general theme of “Digital Worlds: Social, Virtual, Mobile” – social media, virtual worlds, mobile applications, video, interactive entertainment and content, and web applications, states an official release. X|Media|Lab is the internationally acclaimed think-tank and creative workshop for digital media professionals across the emerging digital media disciplines in computer games, animation, digital cinema, interactive content and entertainment, and mobile applications.
Selected projects will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with the X|Media|Lab International Mentors over the intensive two-day workshop, and attend the X|Media|Lab Professional Day Conference, Australia‘s best attended digital media event.
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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.
