Taking the blame for Zynga’s underperformance, John Schappert has relinquished his role as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. The departure comes “after he was stripped of some responsibilities at the company,” Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Specifically, Schappert “had lost his role overseeing game development in a reorganization that was aimed at reviving growth and making more money from mobile services.” “Beset by charges of copyright infringement and insider trading, the bad news keeps rolling in for Zynga,” VentureBeat writes. The sharp decline in Zynga’s share price has called out for change in the company’s operations, “

Muddying YouTube’s mobile strategy, Apple has let its license to carry the video-sharing platform’s app in iOS expire. “iOS 6 beta 4 has removed the YouTube application that existed on iOS since the first version in 2007,” 9to5Mac reports. Some Web Watchers took the development personally. "Apple killing YouTube on iPhone just happens to be the last straw," Jeff Jarvis tweeted Monday after learning that new iPhones would be ditching YouTube. "Went into the AT&T store today to begin switch to my Android phone." “The rift between Apple and Google just got a little wider,” according to The New …

Determined to keep its edge in all things ecommerce, eBay is testing a same-day shipping service dubbed eBay Now. “eBay is trying to revolutionize local commerce,” VentureBeat writes.  “We are witnessing the rise of convenience tech,” according to TechCrunch.  “A top eBay executive has confirmed that it's the brainchild of Jack Abraham, an entrepreneur who sold local shopping-search startup Milo.com to eBay in December for 2010 for $75 million,” reports Business Insider. An iOS app, eBay Now’s beta is letting San Francisco residents get $5 same-day shipping on products from local stores. “It’s now signing up users …

Facebook just debuted Facebookstories.com -- a dedicated Web site featuring user video profiles, and the miraculous ways the social network has impacted their lives.  “In other words, it's Facebook's way of boosting its own ego, and hopefully in the process, boosting the public's opinion of the social network,” in CNet’s opinion. “Ironically perhaps, even though it's the largest social network on the planet, Facebook isn't exactly known for its human touch,” Softpedia writes. “But Facebook does want to showcase that it's more than just a site, it's more than just a tool.” While Stories looks more like …

If a company is only as fit as its talent, then Facebook's getting a little flabby. Three Facebook executives announced their exits on Wednesday -- the latest in a string of departures, which come at a critical period for the social network. The three soon-to-be-ex-employees include Ethan Beard, director of platform partnerships at Facebook; platform marketing director Katie Mitic; and -- perhaps most painful for the social network -- mobile platform marketing manager Jonathan Matus. “It’s worrisome for outsiders -- particularly investors -- who [feared] the loss of top Facebook talent after the company went public,” writes AllThingsD. “If …

Putting other email services -- along with newsletters and email marketers -- on notice, Microsoft is preparing to launch what it promises to be a revolutionary new Hotmail. “With Outlook.com (as the service has been renamed), Microsoft says it has reimagined personal email, by which it means a modern, social-savvy, business-friendly refresh of Google's now 8-year-old Gmail,” eWeek reports. “The move is Microsoft’s latest attempt to combat the rise of Gmail,” GeekWire writes. “Hotmail has long been the largest Webmail service worldwide, but Google’s email service has been climbing quickly.” Hotmail’s worldwide market share fell 4% over the …