If you're interested in the field of location-based social network and gaming services, you'd better be familiar with MyTown. Seemingly out of nowhere, the iPhone app has overtaken better known services like Foursquare and Gowalla in terms of usage. At the moment, the service has some 500,000 users -- along with roughly 31 million check-ins, and 2.1 million unique locations created -- co-founder Keith Lee tells TechCrunch. Lee, along with his co-founders Brian Morrisroe and Sam Christiansen, apparently all have extensive experience in the gaming industry. All three did significant work for Blizzard Entertainment for a number …

Google and Bing captured more U.S. search market share from Yahoo in December, according to new data from comScore. Google rose to 65.7% from 65.6% in November 2009, while Bing grew search share month-over-month to 10.7% from 10.3%. Yahoo continued to fall, down to 17.3% from 17.5% in November. "There is no getting around the fact that the market share trend for Yahoo is awful and will impact search revenue," BroadPoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter said in a research note. "Our biggest concern is trying to find a bottom for Yahoo search share." While Yahoo's rate of …

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak can be called many things, but reticent is not one of them. Case in point: Woz is going around telling members of the press that he's just smitten with Google's new Nexus One smartphone. Recently asked on the set of NBC's "Class Action," a Bay Area education show, what his favorite gadget is, Wozniak said: "Well, it's the latest one ... It's a non-Apple product, but it's a gadget that just came out yesterday" -- the day after Nexus One debuted. Not that Wozniak has been afraid to carp about the company he …

BusinessWeek has reason to believe that Apple could be gearing up for a slew of strategic acquisitions. Last year, the company quietly hired a Goldman Sachs investment banker, Adrian Perica, to help the company cut deals, while multiple sources say Perica is the first dedicated M&A specialist on staff. Apple has also stepped up its pace of acquisitions, as three of Jobs' 11 deals -- since he returned to Apple as chief exec in '97 -- have come in the past five months, including the $275 million purchase of Quattro Wireless, the largest buy since Jobs' return.

Under the headline, "Twitter's Answer To Facebook Connect," TechCrunch is reporting that the popular microblogging service is preparing to debut a new set of tools for third parties to easily integrate Twitter features directly into their own sites and services. "In a nutshell, this is their response to the massively popular Facebook Connect," TechCrunch further clarifies. Facebook announced Facebook Connect in May 2008, around the same time that Google and MySpace were announcing similar projects. Presently, Facebook says 80,000 websites have added Facebook Connect, while 60 million Facebook users engage with Facebook connect on these third party Web …

In a stunning twist on the whole China-based, Google-targeted cyberattacks story, it now appears as if Microsoft might have been responsible. After examining the malicious software code used in the attacks, software maker McAfee is calling a "vulnerability" in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser an important pathway for the attacks. According to The New York Times' Bits blog, Microsoft has conceded as much. "Microsoft said it was investigating McAfee's report, but it has so far determined that versions 6, 7, and 8 of Internet Explorer contain the security vulnerability." …

In case you didn't get the invitation, the White House invited dozens of top executives over on Thursday to discuss better management and operational strategies, along with related technologies. According to The Washington Post's Post Tech blog, "That means thinking of ways to cut costs and getting federal agencies to place a higher priority on better serving the public, in areas including immigration, education and the census," while, "White House officials are hoping to use new technologies, such as the Web and text messaging, to make that all happen." Those expected to attend include Craigslist's Craig Newmark; Microsoft …

Here's a story you won't see on paidContent. The UK's Press Gazette is reporting that Guardian News and Media paid about $6.5 million for the U.S.-based industry blog back in 2008 -- "rather than the £15m ($30m) which has previously been reported." The Press Gazette adds that it "understands that the higher figure, which was widely quoted at the time, was dependent on the highest possible future performance figures for the blog-based media business news site." The Guardian apparently maintains that paidContent parent ContentNext Media is "a good strategic fit to the business," but that the "carrying value" …

Despite its obvious successes, consumers apparently don't think too highly of Apple's iTunes. According to Forrester Research's latest Customer Experience Index, the paid content service ranked #46 among some 133 companies and services, which were rated by 4,600 U.S. consumers according to three principles: whether the service met the customer's needs; how easy it was to work with a firm, and how enjoyable a customer's interactions were with the company. By contrast, online retailers Amazon.com and eBay ranked #4 and #14, respectively, while Barnes & Noble topped the list. "iTunes can be confusing, overwhelming and often less than entirely elegant," …

Determined to monetize new mediums, Oneforty, a Twitter app directory, has debuted a premium pay-as-you-go service. Apps for sale will be featured prominently on the site's home page, giving developers better visibility if they are participating in the new marketplace. The startup's founder and CEO Laura Fitton tells TechCrunch that the service is still a work in progress, and is still very much an "alpha test" to see what developers need and want from the platform. Either way, Oneforty represents part of the increasingly vibrant ecosystem of third party apps and services that has arisen around Twitter. Presently, …