MAM
Sikkim Super Lotto tickets now on SMS
MUMBAI: Online lottery Playwin has now turned its attention to the burgeoning mobile phone market in the country.
Escotel Mobile Communications, which provides services in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Haryana, has announced a facility that enables buying lottery tickets of Sikkim Super Lotto on SMS. Escotel is the first operator in Kerala to offer this facility, the technical support for which has been provided by Xius, says an official release.
Customers have to SMS “LT” followed by six numbers of his choice ranging between 1 to 49 and then SMS it to 7575. The customer will then get a message requesting confirmation of his participation. In the event the customer acknowledges his participation; he gets a confirmation receipt along with his 16-digit ticket number. For further queries the customer can SMS “Help” to 7575.
Escotel-Kerala COO V G Somasekhar says, “The mobile has already become an indispensable part of a subscriber’s life as a preferred communication medium. It is now fast extending its utility beyond just communications adding much more convenience in our day to day life. Our tie-up with Playwin exemplifies the increased convenience to the customer who can now buy a lottery ticket by pressing just a few buttons on his mobile. By becoming the first operator in Kerala to introduce this service, Escotel also underlines it’s commitment to harness cutting edge technology to provide useful and relevant services to its customers ahead of anyone else.”
MAM
Backslash 2026 report: Why human presence now matters more
Six cultural shifts reveal why human presence is the new badge of value
NEW YORK: In a year when artificial intelligence has churned out oceans of content, cultural intelligence unit Backslash argues that what people now crave is something far less automated. Its 2026 Edges report lands with a clear thesis: culture is searching for proof of human.
Backslash, which serves the agencies of Omnicom Advertising, publishes the Edges report annually to spotlight global cultural shifts with enough staying power to shape brand futures. This year’s six new Edges suggest the pendulum is swinging away from frictionless perfection and back towards craft, provenance and visible effort.
After a flood of AI generated output, audiences have developed a sharper instinct for what feels synthetic and what feels real. The telltale signs of care, quirks and even flaws are becoming signals of value.
“We’re entering a moment where output is cheap, but meaning is not,” said Backslash director of cultural strategy and co author of the report Cecelia Girr. “Technology can do more than ever before. The harder question is whether we want it to. In this next chapter, humanity itself becomes the differentiator.”
The six edges for 2026
- Dark mode: As algorithms flatten taste and feed everyone the same stream, people are retreating into private corners and cultivating one of a kind identities. Meaning, it seems, lives in what does not scale.
- Digital friction: After decades spent polishing away every obstacle, culture is warming to technology that slows us down on purpose. Boundaries and built in limits are being reframed not as bugs, but as safeguards for being human.
- Discomfort zone: In a world engineered for ease, struggle and risk are staging a comeback. Discomfort is becoming aspirational because it signals growth and a more vivid sense of being alive.
- Awakened world: Exhausted by auto pilot living, people are seeking experiences that sharpen awareness and re enchant everyday life. Attention is the new luxury.
- Modern civility: After years of rule breaking and norm shredding, total freedom is starting to feel tiring. Shared codes of conduct are re emerging as a pathway to mutual respect and calmer discourse.
- Archive authority: As digital footprints stretch indefinitely, questions about ownership and memory are intensifying. Who controls what is preserved, what is deleted and who gets access to our collective history may be the next cultural battleground.
If 2025 was the year of machine made abundance, Backslash suggests 2026 will reward what feels unmistakably human. Not louder, not faster, but more intentional. In an age of infinite output, proof of presence could be the most powerful brand asset of all.
