iWorld
Sharmila Bhowmick brews Mocha Ink for mindful stories
MUMBAI: Stirring the pot in media and mindfulness, veteran journalist Sharmila Bhowmick has launched Mocha Ink, a storytelling ecosystem designed to blend creativity, journalism, and conscious living.
The platform comprises three interconnected verticals. Mocha Ink Mag is a digital magazine that pairs intellect with aesthetics, covering business, culture, beauty, lifestyle, and the inner life of modern India. With a tone like a relaxed café conversation, it encourages readers to slow down, reflect, and consider what they consume and why.
Complementing the magazine is Mocha Talks, a podcast for conscious conversations. Hosted by Bhowmick, the show invites thought leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to share insights that linger long after the coffee is gone. “We’re bringing back the art of the conversation, the kind that changes you,” she says.
Rounding out the ecosystem is Mocha Ink Lab, a strategy studio where editorial intelligence meets brand storytelling. The Lab helps companies, founders, and institutions craft narratives that build trust, visibility, and cultural impact, demonstrating that the story itself is the strategy.
Founded by Bhowmick, an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of newsroom leadership across The Times of India, CNBC TV18, Business Today, Outlook, and Republic, Mocha Ink exists at the crossroads of content, consciousness, and culture. It aims to help both people and brands find their voice and vision in a rapidly changing world.
With Mocha Ink, Sharmila Bhowmick is not just telling stories, she’s creating a space where stories spark reflection, connection, and transformation.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
