Applications
Amazon launches podcasts network
MUMBAI: Amazon.com has launched its Amazon Podcasts network, a series that offers customers four channels of free content: Amazon BookClips, Music You Should Hear, Significant Seven and Amazon Wire, all available at www.amazon.com/podcast. The company expects to offer several additional channels in the coming months to meet its customers’ increasing demand for rich content related to the products they shop for every day on Amazon.com. Each podcast is available via streaming and download from Amazon.com, and through RSS and iTunes. Amazon Wire is also available on Tivo. |
Amazon.com senior manager of editorial Kristi Coulter says, “Amazon Podcasts offers customers exclusive content and interviews they won’t find anywhere else. Amazon is continually finding ways to improve the service we provide to our millions of customers. Thanks to this new and innovative podcast series, listeners can get more exclusive information about the artists, authors and actors they love.” |
Amazon BookClips is a weekly podcast offering customers a free sneak peek at some of the most popular soon-to-be-released audiobooks. Upcoming titles include “Einstein” by Walter Isaacson and “I Heard That Song Before” by Mary Higgins Clark, plus an exclusive, advance preview of Janet Evanovich’s “Lean Mean 13.” Music You Should Hear is a free, weekly MP3 podcast whereby customers receive an MP3 recording featuring complete songs from developing and indie artists, selected by Amazon’s music editors. Upcoming episodes will include music from Jenny Owen Youngs, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Menomena, Ryan Shaw and more. Significant Seven is a monthly podcast in which book editors from Amazon.com talk about seven of the most exciting upcoming books before they are released. Each book featured in the Significant Seven will be discounted 40 per cent for a limited time. Amazon Wire is a biweekly podcast featuring interviews with some of today’s hottest authors, actors, directors and musicians. In the coming weeks, Amazon Wire will feature Ralph Nader, John Malkovich and Dolores O’Riordan. Amazon Wire launched with a large library of previously recorded content from popular personalities such as personal finance guru Suze Orman, bestselling authors Michael Crichton and Khaled Hosseini, Grammy Award-winning artist Sting, “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels and Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Other popular guests include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Kirk Douglas, Wes Craven, Madeleine Albright, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joss Stone. |
Applications
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.
