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Nick’s ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ offers made-for-Twitter adventure
MUMBAI: US kids broadcaster Nickelodeon‘s show SpongeBob SquarePants will flood the Twitter-verse with the first-time-ever debut of an original story created exclusively for the social networking site Twitter.
The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale was conceived and developed for Twitter by the SpongeBob SquarePants writing team and will run from 12 – 15 July.
The story will be told via multiple tweets and images throughout each day to set scenes and advance the action involving SpongeBob and his friends as they prepare for The Bikini Bottom Great Sleigh Race.
The Ice Race Cometh serves as a prequel to “Frozen Face Off,” the brand-new, prime-time SpongeBob television episode, premiering Friday, July 15, at 8 pm (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.
Nickelodeon senior VP of animation and current series Roland Poindexter said, “SpongeBob‘s fan base is so broad that about a third of its audience is adults, so we wanted to extend the show‘s magic to new places like Twitter so those fans can experience it. SpongeBob is already a big deal in the social media space, with 25 million Facebook fans, and we hope his Twitter debut will drum up some extra excitement for all the people who love him and the show.”
As the Bikini Bottom gang debuts their original Twitter tale – a first for the social media site and SpongeBob – fans will be able to watch the story unfold and track the characters via a Twitter List or a custom tab on the SpongeBob Facebook page.
The Ice Race Cometh: A Twitter-Tale begins with a tweet from Bikini Bottom Action News: an anonymous “wealthy entrepreneur” offers a cool million clams to the winner of The Bikini Bottom Great Sleigh Race. Several competitors chime in, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy, Mr. Krabs, Plankton and even Gary, about their preparations for the race. The messages fly back and forth, with contestants ‘trash talking‘ one another right up to the moment when the race is about to begin.
SpongeBob is no stranger to social media. In January, Nickelodeon broke new ground with the Facebook premiere of an original animated program, “Trenchbillies,” in advance of its TV debut. Nickelodeon currently has more than 84 million fans on Facebook across all of its pages, and SpongeBob himself has amassed 25 million, more than The Beatles and President Obama.
In the 15 July primetime TV special, ‘Frozen Face Off’, Bikini Bottom is buzzing with excitement as the town prepares for a sleigh race sponsored by an anonymous donor. But the gang‘s dreams of winning the $1 million prize come to a screeching halt when they discover Plankton‘s scheme to steal the Krabby Patty formula during the race.
SpongeBob and his friends must work together to navigate through the icy tundra and past a menacing snow mollusk before Plankton gets his hands on Mr. Krabs‘ secret formula.
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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.
