Yesterday, Alexander Macgillivray, Twitter’s general counsel, wasted little time in speaking out against Google+ being fully baked into Google Search — even before Twitter officially did on the record. Today he’s elaborating a bit. Why doesn’t the ex-Google employee like Search+? This is why:

Folks asked for examples. Here’s what a user searching for “@wwe” will be shown on the new @Google. twitter.com/amac/status/15…

— Alex Macgillivray (@amac) January 11, 2012

Yep, that is total bullshit. Especially since Google could easily surface and showcase the Twitter profile for WWE. They’re choosing not to. This has nothing to do with a data deal blocking their access. They have access to that information. It’s in their index right now.

Serious, simple question for Google: what do you think a user is searching for when they search for “@wwe”?

You know, I know, we all know. So why aren’t you showing it?

Just to give everyone their fair airtime, here’s Google’s response to Twitter’s response to Google’s announcement about Search+. Naturally, this was posted to Google+:

We are a bit surprised by Twitter’s comments about Search plus Your World, because they chose not to renew their agreement with us last summer (http://goo.gl/chKwi), and since then we have observed their rel=nofollow instructions.

As far as I know, this is the first time that Google (or Twitter) has publicly given any details as to why the tweet search deal was not renewed — “they chose not to renew their agreement with us”, which reads suspiciously like “fuck you, Twitter”. 

I’ll ask Twitter to comment on Google’s response to Twitter’s response to Google.

[via Mathew Ingram on Twitter]

And out come the knives for Google’s forthcoming search changes that push Google+.

The only words you really need to know in the statement below emailed to me by Twitter: “We’re concerned”…

For years, people have relied on Google to deliver the most relevant results anytime they wanted to find something on the Internet. 

Often, they want to know more about world events and breaking news. Twitter has emerged as a vital source of this real-time information, with more than 100 million users sending 250 million Tweets every day on virtually every topic. As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter; as a result, Twitter accounts and Tweets are often the most relevant results.

We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone. We think that’s bad for people, publishers, news organizations and Twitter users.

We’ll see if Facebook responds as well. I’m sure they’re having the disucssion right now as to whether they should ignore this or take their shot. The problem they have is the relationship with Microsoft for Bing social search — but that’s different, it’s an agreement between two independent companies (though Microsoft owns a small share of Facebook via the investment a few years back).

Microsoft is likely in a similar boat. They probably want to say something but they have to think about their Facebook deal — and they have a Twitter deal too. Yahoo may respond, but will anyone really care? I’m sorry, but it’s true.

Meanwhile, look for a Google response to the Twitter response to the Google move…

Update: Sure enough, here’s Google’s response. 

Given my post last night, this will probably sound like piling on. But I’m sorry, it’s the first thing that comes to mind. I don’t see how it can’t.

How on Earth is Google going to avoid antitrust inquiries with their new Search+ features announced today? If Facebook, Twitter, etc, have any decent presence in DC, the ball began rolling a few hours ago.

This is the type of case that Senators die for. Google wrapped it in a bow and placed it in one of their laps.

Most of the broader antitrust concerns against Google are bullshit in my opinion. You can argue that they have a monopoly on search, but it’s a natural one. They’ve earned it. They’re simply better at search than their competitors. This has always been true. It remains true.

But when they use that natural monopoly to start pushing into other verticals, things get gray. Travel, restaurant reviews, etc, etc. We see more of it each year.