#trending

No, it wasn’t a literal smackdown Tuesday night at Calhoun’s, but the verbal back-and-forth was plenty to feast on.

The Social Media Club Knoxville hosted its first “social media smackdown,” an event that promised to air out the differences among four of the most popular social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.

(The panelists, from left to right, are Katie Granju, backing Facebook; Nicole Denton, supporting Pinterest; Rick Laney, advocating for Twitter; and Shane Rhyne, plugging Google+.)

This week’s #trending column, which will appear in Sunday’s News Sentinel, talks about the smackdown and highlights each panelist presented in defending his/her site.

But for those of you who can’t wait to hear the details, I’ll outline some right here.

Facebook: Granju argued that Facebook is almost ubiquitous, “like the telephone now.” And in many ways, I agree. Facebook messaging, for example, has taken over as my primary way of contacting people I don’t talk to regularly.

If I want to share photos or links with the majority of my friends, I go to Facebook. Party invitations? Nope. Just invite people through Facebook. You can announce big life changes to all your contacts at once; you can group message; or you can even share info with a private group you’re a part of.

Moderator Chad Parizman, who’s the director of social and mobile for Scripps Networks Interactive, pointed out how “Facebook is the underpinning of access to other sites.” And that’s totally true. So many sites ask you to sign in via Facebook.

In a world where it’s easier than ever to lose touch with friends and family, I truly think Facebook helps bridge that gap in many cases.

(Find knoxnews on Facebook.)

Twitter: Laney started off by telling the crowd why Twitter is better than Facebook. “It’s faster … and concise,” he said. And with tweets 140 characters or less, it’s less content to “wade through,” he argues.

And that’s true. I think of Twitter, and often use it in this way, as a more developed RSS feed. I visit the site, where I’m following people whose feeds I find interesting, and I’m met with a stream of useful links, funny banter and interactions with followers.

I can send someone a private message, or a DM, and that’s great, too. I do find the 140-character limit in messages slightly more challenging, but it’s a good challenge. How often are we more verbose than necessary?

(Find knoxnews on Twitter.)

Pinterest: Pinterest, according to Denton, is “drastically different” from other SM sites. It “helps build a lifestyle,” she said.

It’s simple, so it doesn’t feel like you’re joining another social network. And it’s niche, so users are looking for specific things and following people who share those same interests.

Yes, it is most poplar with women 18-34, but it’s still early. On my account, for instance, I see more and more men cropping up.

One metaphor I liked came from Katie Granju, who said: Pinterest is like the iPad, mostly for consuming content and some content creation, whereas other sites are like a laptop, more about creating content and some consumption.

(Find knoxnews on Pinterest.)

Google+: Oh, Google+. The least visited of these four sites, and the newest, it’s still a work in progress.

Rhyne insisted Google+ is the best because he can filter content and mix business and personal with no problems. And it’s got a killer spam-blocking mechanism, he said, because a company/brand on G+ can’t follow a user unless that user follows it.

One important factor he noted was making sure your profile is filled out well. He said that’s key in determining the value of what you’re posting when users consider adding you to their circles.

(Find knoxnews on Google+.)

The verdict: While there was no official winner announced, the 40 or so attendees were polled after all was said and done. If you were to choose only one site to use from now on, they were asked, which would you most want?

Pinterest? No takers.

Google+? Three opted for it.

Twitter? Four hands rose.

And Facebook? An overwhelming number indicated Facebook would take the cake as the only network they’d need.

So, all things considered, it seemed to me that Facebook took top honors as MVS — most valuable site.