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W3C to hold summit on internationalisation of web
BANGALORE: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) under the aegis of the Indian ministry of communications and IT will be holding a summit on the internationalisation of the web.
The main objective of the summit is to discuss requirements for representing Indian languages correctly in various web standards developed by W3C under the internationalisation activity and come up with feedback to incorporate the recommendations.
This summit is being organised to take the W3C initiatives further along with the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) – the body representing the interest of IT manufacturing in India from 24 – 25 August in Bangalore.
W3C International‘s Richard Ishida will deliver the keynote address. Several computing experts, academicians and developers are expected to participate in the event. Invitations to participate have also been extended to all State IT Secretaries.
Cisco Systems India will be the Platinum Sponsor for the event targeted at key influencers such as CIOs, CTOs, business decision makers, researchers, technologists and developers from the institutions and technology-driven businesses.
The W3C is a vendor-neutral, non-profit international organisation, where its members, staff and invited experts work together to design technologies to ensure that the web will continue to thrive in the face of a growing diversity of people, hardware and software. The mission of W3C is to help the web reach its maximum potential
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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.
