Is your local business using Twitter? MediaPost News says, small businesses should consider Twitter as a marketing tool to connect with customers, especially because it’s free to use. While the links don’t transfer PageRank value from Twitter to linked-to sites, there could still be some value in ranking terms. Make sure, even if you’re not ready to start tweeting, to secure your Twitter name. Check out the article here.

Debuting in June, Japanese brides will have the option of wearing a Barbie wedding gown for their nuptials. According to Reuters.com, Mattel is looking for new ways to market Barbie to the Japanese public.

Despite Japan being one of the largest toy markets in the world, Mattel has always had a hard time marketing Barbie partly due to Tomy Co’s Licca-chan, which has a Japanese body-type and facial features.

Because the new bridal gowns will only be offered in Japan–we wonder how many foreign women will visit the nation to get their hands on these collector’s items for their own weddings…

World Water Week starts March 22, and Tap Project is finding new ways to reach its customers.  Originally, most donations came into the project through restaurants asking patrons to donate $1 when ordering water for better water in third world countries such as the Central African Republic, Guatemala and Togo.  With donations slowing down due to fewer patrons eating out, they’ve turned to another initiative.  They’re posting ads in certain cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Miami targeting the Spanish speakers.  They’re also encouraging people to have parties during World Water Week and encourage party goers to donate money via their mobile phone.

For more on this story, read the article at the New York Times.

According to ‘Net Buzz Examiner, Alloy Media + Marketing, the producers of Gossip Girl, have introduced TEEN.com “TV,” a new youth-focused digital entertainment network offering teen-targeted original web programming. According to Alloy Media + Marketing’s statement, debut programs developed exclusively for TEEN.com “TV” include original scripted programming such as Haute and Bothered, developed through its content partnership with United Talent Agency, and Private, based on the New York Times best-selling book series, created and produced by Alloy Entertainment; the series will feature exclusive content such as behind the scenes footage and interviews from Alloy’s Gossip Girl, Samurai Girl, The Clique, and red carpet events.

What do you think of the match up? Has the success of Twilight, Gossip Girl and dare we say the Jonas Brothers brought a renewed interest in teen centered television? We’d like to hear your thoughts.

Matt Rhodes recently took a different outlook on twitter at the FutureLab blog when he mentioned that we might be using Twitter too much as a means of replacing the way we do things instead of discovering new things we can do with the technology. There’s no doubt that Twitter has grown immensely over the past year and that we have not seen the extent of its growth potential yet, but in what new ways can it help build relationships?

What’s your take on twitter?

In a recent article at Ad Week, they show that consumers not only look at the price of a product before they purchase it, but they look at the value they see from the product and the brand.  Between 2008 and 2009, consumer perception of brand value went up 20%.  Dunkin Donuts and State Farm were the example given in this Ad Week article for their value to the consumers they served.