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Bigadda ceases social media ops
MUMBAI: Reliance ADAG‘s social media portal Bigadda.com has gave in to the competition. The company today announced the discontinuation of the social media services.
Hereon, the portal will transform into e-commerce business, it said in a statement.
Big Adda claims a strong brand connect with youth in Tier II/III cities of India with 3.5 million of its subscribers out of 5.5 million registered users coming from the small towns of India. However, with popularity of Facebook and Twitter, it somehow could not manage to hold ground, experts believe.
Citing the reasons behind closing of the social networking, Reliance Entertainment (Digital Business) CEO Rohit Sharma said, “This is a conscious decision to transition Bigadda.com to e-commerce business. The digital space is dynamic and ever-changing. In 2007 when Bigadda.com was launched, social media networks were the next big thing in the digital space, and we believed that local social media platforms would do exceptionally well. However local social media networks show no potential anymore with dominance of Facebook and other global players.
He added that the growth drivers of digital space are e-commerce, gaming and video on demand (VoD). “We already have a strong presence in gaming with Zapak and jumpgames and VOD with Bigflix.com. With this transition we will cover the third growth driver as well,” Sharma added.
Big Adda e-commerce operations have been operational since last three months in pilot phase and during these three months Big adda claims that it has witnessed fastest ramp up of orders compared to any recent e-commerce player in India. Big Adda has crossed Rs 20 million gross value transactions per month in June, and with its aggressive plans for the coming months, is poised to be one of the leading e-commerce players in Indian e-commerce space with its combination of readers offer and e-tailing business models, the company said.
Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan’s blog will continue on the site. Sharma said, “Fans can continue to read the superstar’s blog daily as BigB‘s blog has an identity of its own and will continue to connect Big B with his millions of fans across the globe.”
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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.
