There’s been more than a little buzz about Google+, the Google social network that’s currently in early testing phases and which (according to insider sources) is likely to be publicly released by the end of the summer. While much of the discussion on the topic has been positive, there are more than a few skeptics. After all, Google has attempted to make its way into social before to no avail, and the choice to launch such a large-scale social network has some readily apparent fallout.

Case in point: Twitter decided not to re-up its partnership with Google for real-time search, and it may well be that Twitter and Google stop working together on other projects as well, including Google’s social search features. When asked about this deal, Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt stated the companies had “a substantive and lengthy discussion” on the topic, but that the companies couldn’t agree on terms. Analysis of this choice leads some to believe Twitter is avoiding Google since they don’t want to sponsor a company that is now a more direct competitor.

Facebook also declined to work with Google. When Google attempted to negotiate a tool that let users import their friends from Facebook to Google+, Facebook wouldn’t give an inch. But Schmidt said that he didn’t view the companies as competitors and that he would “love to have deeper integration with Twitter and Facebook.” To Schmidt, the social networks serve different purposes and can co-exist, even in a world where Google and Facebook are technological giants who tread on much of the same territory.

Discussing Google+ itself, Schmidt indicated that it was too early to say whether or not the service was doing well, but that users were responding enthusiastically, especially to video chat services.