While some call Vanity Fair's piece on a married Google founder's romance with a much younger employee a "trashy read," the report says that Google Glass was the catalyst of the break-up.
Although the report is unclear about how or when the affair began, it does say that Google employee Amanda Rosenberg "quickly moved up the ranks" to Google Glass marketing manager where she became the "face" of Google Glass at media events and on social media, according to Vanity Fair. It was after that promotion that Brin and Rosenberg were reported to be an item last August and that Brin had separated from his wife, Anne Wojcicki.
Google Glass had always been Brin's baby, which he nursed from a 10-pound prototype at Google X, Google's semi-secret lab for special projects, to a sleeker version similar to the product today. As the project got closer to production, its team, and Rosenberg, were hired. Rosenberg even coined the term, "O.K. Glass," to activate the wearable computer. She also worked with Brin's wife on the project and was considered a friend, according to the report.
There's much more gossip, including how Rosenberg reportedly continued to date another Google employee at the time of her involvement with Brin. Rosenberg and Brin still reportedly work together at Google X, which also has caused some friction with employees, including causing founder Larry Page to quit speaking to him for a while. It also may open Brin up to legal troubles.
"While there's nothing unlawful about a consensual sexual affair within a company, things happen," David Kadue, a Los Angeles labor and employment attorney, told the San Jose Mercury News.
Brin should have been honest about the relationship with Page and Google's board of directors and created a new boss for Rosenberg rather than someone with whom she was romantically entangled, he said. Despite the risks, Rosenberg is not suing the company.
Still, without Google Glass, maybe none of this would have happened.
