How to get a design job at Google

The senior designer at Google reveals the secrets of getting hired: "be prepared".

I caught up with Fabio Sasso at the Reasons To Be Creative conference in Brighton last week. I've known Fabio via email since I took over as editor of Digital Arts four years ago. Back then he was an independent web designer and blogger who contributed some of our most popular Photoshop tutorials from his studio in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Since then he's joined Google, where he's a senior designer, and moved to California – though he still finds time to run his ever-popular blog, Abduzeedo.

His talk at RtbC charted the highs and lows of his career, from losing everything during a robbery at his studio in Sao Paolo to being approached – and then hired – by the web services giant. He also got a gentle ribbing from his girlfriend Ibby, who pretended to be an audience member and asked pointedly how he found time to run Abduzeedo while working full-time at Google – and how he found time for a life outside the two.

We sat down after his talk with a well-deserved pint (above), accompanied by Ibby, to discuss his experiences with Google – and how you too could get a design job there.

NB: Why did you want to work for Google?

FS: "When I started my company back in 2004, I never imagined I'd go back to work for somebody else. When I got the [email about applying to work at Google], I knew it was right. It was not just that chance to work for them, it was an opportunity to move to another country – where I could have more opportunities overall. I remember thinking, 'If I can't adapt to it, I can always go back and start my own company again – so I'm going to give it a try'."

NB: What did you think of Google before you joined?

FS: "I didn't [have a mental image of what working at Google would be like], as I was coming from a different country. I had no idea about the culture of the US or its working culture. Everything was new.

"It was way better than how things worked in Brazil, where are people looking to take your job. Everything [in Brazil] is so insecure. At Google, they treat you nice. It made me feel a bit insecure – [I asked myself] 'what did I do to deserve this?' – but now I'm getting used to it. [laughs]

NB: What surprised you most?

FS: "It was way bigger than I imagined. It's a massive company. I didn't have experience of working inside that before I joined.

"It's a bit like when I was in college and I had to do projects with my whole class. We had design critiques and then other designers would come in and give us more feedback.

"This was something that I was missing [in my career previous to Google]. When you're in a two person company, sometimes you agree about things but there's no discussion. You get used to that other person and there's no conversation anymore.

Fabio on stage at Reasons to be Creative

NB: What's different about working at Google?

FS: "It was also a chance to work on a product that has a huge audience. It's not like designing for a small company where it's easy to understand what you have to do. There's so much to learn and for me it's more of an opportunity to learn.
"Also, I feel like I'm more of a product designer than a [graphic or web designer]. Product design is all about creating many iterations, and learning from your mistakes and seeing how can you improve it. It's about constantly changing things. Some people might think it's more boring, as you don't have the challenges of a new thing everyday."

NB: How do you change your mindset from being a designer for clients to being a product designer?

FS: "[You need to] be more open. You're not always right. When you're designing a product you're always learning. You need to learn when is the right moment to innovate, otherwise you'll keep doing the same thing – as that's what the audience wants and there's no innovation. Find the balance between when it's time to break the rules and when to follow them.

"It's also about looking at it like a long-term project – like running a blog. Abduzeebo is very similar in some ways. We've been tweaking the site for seven or eight years now. We've been through the process of finding out that 'this redesign looks more beautiful but people aren't finding the content'. By tweaking, you end up with something that's not exactly what you wanted, but it performs way better.

"I ask myself 'What is good design?': A beautiful design or one that just works. It depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want something that appears in design galleries? Then make it super beautiful. Otherwise – and for my blog especially – it's all about trying to make sure that things are working.

[You also have to accept that there are parts of your product that] you cannot control. At Google, we have Google images. We cannot [move images higher up the search ranking] because it's more beautiful. It depends on what people are searching for: you have the algorithm, the ranking. You can't predict if its the one that's perfectly composed.

NB: How do you get a job at Google?

FS: "Google is hiring designers. We want to have more designers. The most important thing is to find a position that you like. Put together a nice presentation and portfolio that shows you can meet [the challenges of that position]. Go there. Be prepared. Present those key factors that we're looking for in a way that proves you can do it, and you can get a job at Google."

NB: Do you need to be a generalist?

FS: "It depends a lot on the team that's hiring. Me personally, I prefer more of a generalist than a specialist as I find it easier to work with those people because I'm a generalist too."   

NB: Why do you think they hired you?

FS: "Because they had completely lost their minds [laughs]. Abduzeedo was a nice project that I had that proved I was able to deliver, and that  I was able to work under pressure. Abduzeedo allowed me to try different things. We had an iPhone app, and in the interview I showed we had an app I had built, and a web version of the app.

NB: Tell us about the infamous interview process

FS: "It's not simple. There are exercises to see if you can do the job. It's a regular interview, but you have to be prepared. You have to be able to lead the interviewer through the process behind how you created something, not wait for them to ask you lots of questions. Cover as much as you can.

"Once you get approved by that, you have to go in front of hiring committees. It's an arduous process. It takes three-to-four months.

"Going for the interview is an easy and simple process. You go to the interview and do some exercises. But you have to be prepared. That's the tricky part.

NB: Why have you kept Abduzeebo going?

FS: "The blog gives me freedom. If I want to do a Photoshop poster, I just do it. My constraints are just my time, around my girlfriend who's going to get mad at me because I'm working all the time. [laughs and looks at Ibby, who laughs too].

The Reasons to be Creative conference in Brighton brought together the likes of Stefan Sagmeister, Jon Burgerman, Geri Coady, Erik Spiekermann, Naomi Atkinson, Fabio Sasso, Mr Bingo and more to discuss topics dear to most creatives' hearts: from finding happiness and creative success and failure, to how to motivate yourself and change what you do for the better. It even got attendees singing in unison.

View the original article here

Google Wallet redesigned to work more like Apple Passbook

Google Wallet is coming to US-based Android phones this week, but it's hardly the same app that Google first launched two years ago. It's still not available in the UK, but – being Digital Arts – the evolution of its design is more interesting to us than being able to use it

The new Google Wallet app is more like Apple's Passbook, containing loyalty cards (below) for real-world shops. With supporting merchants such as Office Depot and Foot Locker, Americans can check their rewards balance and get Google Now notifications when they8're near a store.

A few retailers, including Belly and Red Mango, allow buyers to sign up for rewards directly through the Wallet app.

Unlike Passbook, Google Wallet lets you scan in barcodes from physical loyalty cards.

Other apps such as Key Ring offer this functionality already, but having loyalty cards integrated with the Android OS could be helpful if more retailers add Google Wallet support over time.

The Wallet app also acts a central location for Groupon-like special offers from stores and restaurants (above). Americans can purchase these offers through Google+, Google Search, Google Maps, or Google Offers, and they'll all show up in the Wallet app.

They can browse for nearby offers directly through the app as well. Google says it will support coupon sites such as Valpak starting later this week.

The other major change is the ability to send money (below). Users can transfer funds to anyone in the United States with an email address, but the recipient will have to sign up for Google Wallet to receive the funds.

Transfers from bank accounts and from a Google Wallet balance are free, but there's a 2.9 percent transaction fee to send money from a credit or debit card. Google had already been testing money transfers through Gmail, and users who send money through the Wallet app will get early access to Gmail transfers as well.

The NFC-based payment features of Google Wallet aren't going away, but there aren't many phones that support it to begin with. For years, US-based wireless carriers have banished Google Wallet as they build their own competing service, called Isis. That's not going to change, even though Isis is still in limited trials with a nationwide launch coming later this year.

Like it or not, Google needs to take a different approach if it wants to be hooked into what people buy in the real world.

Google says the new app is rolling out this week in Google Play. If you're feeling impatient and adventurous, the folks at Android Police have posted the APK file, which seems to work just fine.

One of the designers on the project is Digital Arts contributor Fabio Sasso, who we interviewed a few weeks ago about what its like to work at Google – and how you could get a job at Google too.

View the original article here

Fabio Sasso tells us how to get a design job at Google

The senior designer at Google reveals the secrets of getting hired: "be prepared".

I caught up with Fabio Sasso at the Reasons To Be Creative conference in Brighton last week. I've known Fabio via email since I took over as editor of Digital Arts four years ago. Back then he was an independent web designer and blogger who contributed some of our most popular Photoshop tutorials from his studio in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Since then he's joined Google, where he's a senior designer, and moved to California – though he still finds time to run his ever-popular blog, Abduzeedo.

His talk at RtbC charted the highs and lows of his career, from losing everything during a robbery at his studio in Sao Paolo to being approached – and then hired – by the web services giant. He also got a gentle ribbing from his girlfriend Ibby, who pretended to be an audience member and asked pointedly how he found time to run Abduzeedo while working full-time at Google – and how he found time for a life outside the two.

We sat down after his talk with a well-deserved pint (above), accompanied by Ibby, to discuss his experiences with Google – and how you too could get a design job there.

NB: Why did you want to work for Google?

FS: "When I started my company back in 2004, I never imagined I'd go back to work for somebody else. When I got the [email about applying to work at Google], I knew it was right. It was not just that chance to work for them, it was an opportunity to move to another country – where I could have more opportunities overall. I remember thinking, 'If I can't adapt to it, I can always go back and start my own company again – so I'm going to give it a try'."

NB: What did you think of Google before you joined?

FS: "I didn't [have a mental image of what working at Google would be like], as I was coming from a different country. I had no idea about the culture of the US or its working culture. Everything was new.

"It was way better than how things worked in Brazil, where are people looking to take your job. Everything [in Brazil] is so insecure. At Google, they treat you nice. It made me feel a bit insecure – [I asked myself] 'what did I do to deserve this?' – but now I'm getting used to it. [laughs]

NB: What surprised you most?

FS: "It was way bigger than I imagined. It's a massive company. I didn't have experience of working inside that before I joined.

"It's a bit like when I was in college and I had to do projects with my whole class. We had design critiques and then other designers would come in and give us more feedback.

"This was something that I was missing [in my career previous to Google]. When you're in a two person company, sometimes you agree about things but there's no discussion. You get used to that other person and there's no conversation anymore.

Fabio on stage at Reasons to be Creative

NB: What's different about working at Google?

FS: "It was also a chance to work on a product that has a huge audience. It's not like designing for a small company where it's easy to understand what you have to do. There's so much to learn and for me it's more of an opportunity to learn.
"Also, I feel like I'm more of a product designer than a [graphic or web designer]. Product design is all about creating many iterations, and learning from your mistakes and seeing how can you improve it. It's about constantly changing things. Some people might think it's more boring, as you don't have the challenges of a new thing everyday."

NB: How do you change your mindset from being a designer for clients to being a product designer?

FS: "[You need to] be more open. You're not always right. When you're designing a product you're always learning. You need to learn when is the right moment to innovate, otherwise you'll keep doing the same thing – as that's what the audience wants and there's no innovation. Find the balance between when it's time to break the rules and when to follow them.

"It's also about looking at it like a long-term project – like running a blog. Abduzeebo is very similar in some ways. We've been tweaking the site for seven or eight years now. We've been through the process of finding out that 'this redesign looks more beautiful but people aren't finding the content'. By tweaking, you end up with something that's not exactly what you wanted, but it performs way better.

"I ask myself 'What is good design?': A beautiful design or one that just works. It depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want something that appears in design galleries? Then make it super beautiful. Otherwise – and for my blog especially – it's all about trying to make sure that things are working.

[You also have to accept that there are parts of your product that] you cannot control. At Google, we have Google images. We cannot [move images higher up the search ranking] because it's more beautiful. It depends on what people are searching for: you have the algorithm, the ranking. You can't predict if its the one that's perfectly composed.

NB: How do you get a job at Google?

FS: "Google is hiring designers. We want to have more designers. The most important thing is to find a position that you like. Put together a nice presentation and portfolio that shows you can meet [the challenges of that position]. Go there. Be prepared. Present those key factors that we're looking for in a way that proves you can do it, and you can get a job at Google."

NB: Do you need to be a generalist?

FS: "It depends a lot on the team that's hiring. Me personally, I prefer more of a generalist than a specialist as I find it easier to work with those people because I'm a generalist too."   

NB: Why do you think they hired you?

FS: "Because they had completely lost their minds [laughs]. Abduzeedo was a nice project that I had that proved I was able to deliver, and that  I was able to work under pressure. Abduzeedo allowed me to try different things. We had an iPhone app, and in the interview I showed we had an app I had built, and a web version of the app.

NB: Tell us about the infamous interview process

FS: "It's not simple. There are exercises to see if you can do the job. It's a regular interview, but you have to be prepared. You have to be able to lead the interviewer through the process behind how you created something, not wait for them to ask you lots of questions. Cover as much as you can.

"Once you get approved by that, you have to go in front of hiring committees. It's an arduous process. It takes three-to-four months.

"Going for the interview is an easy and simple process. You go to the interview and do some exercises. But you have to be prepared. That's the tricky part.

NB: Why have you kept Abduzeebo going?

FS: "The blog gives me freedom. If I want to do a Photoshop poster, I just do it. My constraints are just my time, around my girlfriend who's going to get mad at me because I'm working all the time. [laughs and looks at Ibby, who laughs too].

The Reasons to be Creative conference in Brighton brought together the likes of Stefan Sagmeister, Jon Burgerman, Geri Coady, Erik Spiekermann, Naomi Atkinson, Fabio Sasso, Mr Bingo and more to discuss topics dear to most creatives' hearts: from finding happiness and creative success and failure, to how to motivate yourself and change what you do for the better. It even got attendees singing in unison.

View the original article here

How to get a design job at Google

The senior designer at Google reveals the secrets of getting hired: "be prepared".

I caught up with Fabio Sasso at the Reasons To Be Creative conference in Brighton last week. I've known Fabio via email since I took over as editor of Digital Arts four years ago. Back then he was an independent web designer and blogger who contributed some of our most popular Photoshop tutorials from his studio in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Since then he's joined Google, where he's a senior designer, and moved to California – though he still finds time to run his ever-popular blog, Abduzeedo.

His talk at RtbC charted the highs and lows of his career, from losing everything during a robbery at his studio in Sao Paolo to being approached – and then hired – by the web services giant. He also got a gentle ribbing from his girlfriend Ibby, who pretended to be an audience member and asked pointedly how he found time to run Abduzeedo while working full-time at Google – and how he found time for a life outside the two.

We sat down after his talk with a well-deserved pint (above), accompanied by Ibby, to discuss his experiences with Google – and how you too could get a design job there.

NB: Why did you want to work for Google?

FS: "When I started my company back in 2004, I never imagined I'd go back to work for somebody else. When I got the [email about applying to work at Google], I knew it was right. It was not just that chance to work for them, it was an opportunity to move to another country – where I could have more opportunities overall. I remember thinking, 'If I can't adapt to it, I can always go back and start my own company again – so I'm going to give it a try'."

NB: What did you think of Google before you joined?

FS: "I didn't [have a mental image of what working at Google would be like], as I was coming from a different country. I had no idea about the culture of the US or its working culture. Everything was new.

"It was way better than how things worked in Brazil, where are people looking to take your job. Everything [in Brazil] is so insecure. At Google, they treat you nice. It made me feel a bit insecure – [I asked myself] 'what did I do to deserve this?' – but now I'm getting used to it. [laughs]

NB: What surprised you most?

FS: "It was way bigger than I imagined. It's a massive company. I didn't have experience of working inside that before I joined.

"It's a bit like when I was in college and I had to do projects with my whole class. We had design critiques and then other designers would come in and give us more feedback.

"This was something that I was missing [in my career previous to Google]. When you're in a two person company, sometimes you agree about things but there's no discussion. You get used to that other person and there's no conversation anymore.

Fabio on stage at Reasons to be Creative

NB: What's different about working at Google?

FS: "It was also a chance to work on a product that has a huge audience. It's not like designing for a small company where it's easy to understand what you have to do. There's so much to learn and for me it's more of an opportunity to learn.
"Also, I feel like I'm more of a product designer than a [graphic or web designer]. Product design is all about creating many iterations, and learning from your mistakes and seeing how can you improve it. It's about constantly changing things. Some people might think it's more boring, as you don't have the challenges of a new thing everyday."

NB: How do you change your mindset from being a designer for clients to being a product designer?

FS: "[You need to] be more open. You're not always right. When you're designing a product you're always learning. You need to learn when is the right moment to innovate, otherwise you'll keep doing the same thing – as that's what the audience wants and there's no innovation. Find the balance between when it's time to break the rules and when to follow them.

"It's also about looking at it like a long-term project – like running a blog. Abduzeebo is very similar in some ways. We've been tweaking the site for seven or eight years now. We've been through the process of finding out that 'this redesign looks more beautiful but people aren't finding the content'. By tweaking, you end up with something that's not exactly what you wanted, but it performs way better.

"I ask myself 'What is good design?': A beautiful design or one that just works. It depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want something that appears in design galleries? Then make it super beautiful. Otherwise – and for my blog especially – it's all about trying to make sure that things are working.

[You also have to accept that there are parts of your product that] you cannot control. At Google, we have Google images. We cannot [move images higher up the search ranking] because it's more beautiful. It depends on what people are searching for: you have the algorithm, the ranking. You can't predict if its the one that's perfectly composed.

NB: How do you get a job at Google?

FS: "Google is hiring designers. We want to have more designers. The most important thing is to find a position that you like. Put together a nice presentation and portfolio that shows you can meet [the challenges of that position]. Go there. Be prepared. Present those key factors that we're looking for in a way that proves you can do it, and you can get a job at Google."

NB: Do you need to be a generalist?

FS: "It depends a lot on the team that's hiring. Me personally, I prefer more of a generalist than a specialist as I find it easier to work with those people because I'm a generalist too."   

NB: Why do you think they hired you?

FS: "Because they had completely lost their minds [laughs]. Abduzeedo was a nice project that I had that proved I was able to deliver, and that  I was able to work under pressure. Abduzeedo allowed me to try different things. We had an iPhone app, and in the interview I showed we had an app I had built, and a web version of the app.

NB: Tell us about the infamous interview process

FS: "It's not simple. There are exercises to see if you can do the job. It's a regular interview, but you have to be prepared. You have to be able to lead the interviewer through the process behind how you created something, not wait for them to ask you lots of questions. Cover as much as you can.

"Once you get approved by that, you have to go in front of hiring committees. It's an arduous process. It takes three-to-four months.

"Going for the interview is an easy and simple process. You go to the interview and do some exercises. But you have to be prepared. That's the tricky part.

NB: Why have you kept Abduzeebo going?

FS: "The blog gives me freedom. If I want to do a Photoshop poster, I just do it. My constraints are just my time, around my girlfriend who's going to get mad at me because I'm working all the time. [laughs and looks at Ibby, who laughs too].

The Reasons to be Creative conference in Brighton brought together the likes of Stefan Sagmeister, Jon Burgerman, Geri Coady, Erik Spiekermann, Naomi Atkinson, Fabio Sasso, Mr Bingo and more to discuss topics dear to most creatives' hearts: from finding happiness and creative success and failure, to how to motivate yourself and change what you do for the better. It even got attendees singing in unison.

View the original article here

Amanda Rosenberg: Google girl who went to Kate Middleton's school and boss Sergey Brin in romance that's rocked Silicon Valley

Amanda Rosenberg last night named as the new lover of Sergey BrinThe Google co-founder is one of the world's richest men with ?15bn fortune
He and wife Anne Wojcicki, both 40, married in 2007 and have two childrenMiss Rosenberg went to the same ?31,000-a-year school as the Middletons
She is marketing manager for Google's Glass computerised spectaclesThe 27-year-old came up with the 'Ok, Glass' command to activate the device
Brin and his wife reportedly have a prenuptial agreement in case of divorce 

By Neil Sears and David Gardner

PUBLISHED: 21:43 GMT, 29 August 2013 | UPDATED: 23:19 GMT, 29 August 2013

Google gossip: Amanda Rosenberg is the 27-year-old British woman who has struck up a romance with multibilionaire Google co-founder Sergey Brin

A British woman who left London in search of fame and fortune with Google is at the centre of Silicon Valley gossip after striking up a romance with the search engine’s married multi-billionaire founder.

Only last year, Amanda Rosenberg was so friendless after moving to San Francisco that she spoke of eating her lunch alone in the toilets.

But the 27-year-old, who boarded at ?31,000-a-year Marlborough College with Princess Beatrice and Kate and Pippa Middleton, certainly seems to  have turned things around – for she was last night named as the new lover of Sergey Brin, 40.

Google has been rocked by talk of the romance, and a spokesman yesterday confirmed that Brin – one of the world’s richest men with a ?15billion fortune – has for several months been living apart from his wife of six years Anne Wojcicki, the mother of his two children.

If they divorce, Californian law suggests their massive fortune would have to be halved – although they reportedly signed a strict pre-nuptial agreement.

While the internet was agog with talk of Brin romancing his much younger employee, the Daily Mail tracked down a distinctly unsurprised former boyfriend of Miss Rosenberg – who said she ‘knew the power of her womanly ways’.

Ewan Butler, 28, a trainee teacher living with his parents in Darlington, said: ‘Amanda’s a good looking girl, and she knows she is.

'And she’s good at “playing” men – she played me.’

Brin’s relationship with Rosenberg emerged only yesterday – but the pair were pictured together earlier this year at a New York Fashion Week event, both wearing the controversial Google Glass computerised spectacles for which she is marketing manager.

An employee of Google since she graduated with a communications degree from Leeds University, she initially worked for the internet giant in London before last year moving to San Francisco to work at its Silicon Valley nerve centre.

She soon won a role promoting Google Glass, widely criticised as the glasses which enable users to film and broadcast over the internet everything they see non-stop, worrying privacy campaigners.

Miss Rosenberg wrote an online blog soon after she arrived – describing herself as a ‘misanthropic Brit struggling to come to terms with Californian optimism’.

Split: Mr Brin, who is worth a staggering ?15billion, has separated from his wife of six years, Anne Wojcicki, left

A good looking girl... 'who knows she is': Miss Rosenberg, shown left wearing the Google Glass device and right in a picture from her Google+ profile, previously dated Ewan Butler, 28, a trainee teacher living from Darlington

Employee: Miss Rosenberg pictured in a YouTube marketing video for Google Glass. She won her role promoting the controversial spectacles after coming up with the voice command ‘Ok, Glass’ to activate them

Glasses promotion: Rosenberg with boss Brin and fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg in New York

She wrote: ‘I’d been living a beautifully choreographed life in London for pretty much my entire life; family, friends, job, life. Then one day I realised the beauty had faded.

‘So I applied for a transfer with my company to a different country. Yes! The romance of a transfer!

‘Luckily for me this all worked out like I dreamed it would...NOT. Of course it didn’t work out like that!

‘I remember having conversations with people about moving countries, and no one talks about how it felt to be alone.

'I wanted to grab them and scream “Why are you not telling me about how you ate lunch in the toilets at work for the first week because no one talked to you?”.’

Power couple: If Brin and Wojcicki, his wife of six years, divorce, Californian law suggests their massive fortune would have to be halved - although they reportedly signed a strict pre-nuptial agreement

Marriage on the rocks: A Google spokesman confirmed that Brin – one of the world’s richest men – has for several months been living apart from Wojcicki, the mother of his two children

Miss Rosenberg, who previously lived in Wimbledon, adding tellingly that her first thought in her new office was: ‘Hello new boss, hello new team...LIKE ME IMMEDIATELY.’ 

Sergey Brin, 40, is being roundly mocked on the internet over his apparent relationship with Amanda Rosenberg.

One of numerous websites ridiculing the reported affair draws particular attention to his recent enthusiasm for the ‘Google Glass’ computerised spectacles.

The website jibes: ‘Since Google Glass launched the company’s co-founder, Sergey Brin, hasn’t been spotted without a pair.

'He’s placed himself atop the privacy-eroding project, publicly, and inside Google’s secret labs.

'Maybe it’s because he’s f****** the Glass marketing manager, Amanda Rosenberg.’

The blog goes on: ‘Knowing that one of the most vital, powerful men at the company has been using Google’s most ambitious product as a dating pool won’t be smooth news for the rest of the team.’

She also wrote that she was initially so shy she failed to turn up at her first work drinks invitation, fearing she would be ‘the weird loner in the corner’, so stayed in eating biscuits alone on her sofa instead.

In an internet profile Miss Rosenberg wrote of herself: ‘I’m part of the master race that is the Chinese Jew or Chew, if you will.

'Born in Hong Kong but bred in the UK. A misanthrope who’s bad at maths, so I got the worst of both worlds.’

Elsewhere she declares that her motto is: ‘He who hesitates is a damned fool.’

Miss Rosenberg is understood to have an English father and a Hong Kong Chinese mother who worked as an investment banker.

After leaving Marlborough, where Pippa Middleton was two years above her, and Princess Beatrice was just a year below, she soon began a year-long relationship with fellow Leeds University student Mr Butler.

Told his ex was being linked to the Google tycoon, he said: ‘It wouldn’t surprise me in the least – she’s that kind of girl.’

He added: ‘Although Amanda did have a posh crew she knocked around with she wasn’t stuck up like you might expect from a Marlborough girl.

'With me I think there was a fascination with me being northern – I was pretty much the only person in our student halls who went to a comprehensive.’

More than a marketing manager: Miss Rosenberg also appears in promotional shots for Google Glass 

California dreamin': She wrote on her blog that she was initially so shy in her new role in Google's Silicon Valley HQ she failed to turn up at her first work drinks invitation, fearing she would be 'the weird loner in the corner'

Mixed-race heritage: Miss Rosenberg is understood to have an English father and a Hong Kong Chinese mother. She describes herself as 'part of the master race that is the Chinese Jew or Chew, if you will'

Geek chic: Miss Rosenberg's blog details how she made every effort to fit in with Google's in-crowd

Celebrity lifestyle: Miss Rosenberg poses with British rapper and iconic glasses-wearer Tinie Tempah

Romantic link: Hugo Barra, Google's product management director for Android. Miss Rosenberg was previously linked to the Google executive, who recently announced he was leaving the firm to take a job in China

Intriguingly Miss Rosenberg had already had a high-flying Google boyfriend in America – senior executive Hugo Barra, who recently announced he was leaving to join a Chinese computer firm.

Last night Miss Rosenberg – who got her Google Glass job after coming up with the voice command ‘Ok, Glass’ to activate the device - could not be contacted for comment.

A spokesman for Brin – who founded Google with Larry Page in 1998 – said that he was not legally separated from his wife and that ‘they remain good friends and partners’.

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