Social networks more popular than ever. According to research by consultants Burson-Marsteller into the Fortune 100 top companies, 87% of big companies use at least one social network, up from 84% in 2011; but 70% of companies update their presence every day on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. Facebook is mostly used for marketing and Twitter for public relations, to influence public opinion. Twitter is the most popular among companies, used by 82% of the Top 100 companies in 2012, compared with 77% last year. The number of followers per company has tripled in a year from 5,000 plus on average in 2011 to nearly 15,000 in 2012. Twitter is followed by YouTube (79%) and Facebook (74%). YouTube has shot up - only 57% of companies used it in 2011. The new Google+ application, launched last year, and also Pinterest, which has been growing in popularity over recent months, have already been used by 48% and 25% of companies respectively, mainly in the United States. (IL/transl.fl)