The search giant's famously freewheeling demeanor has eroded over the recent past as Google grew more and more corporate.
At Google, Page and Brin are human manifestations of a romanticized open culture that fostered creativity, even if it had no immediate benefit for the company.
Page and Brin grounded Google in an ethos that promoted internal transparency, even if it seemed from the outside to be as opaque as the company's search algorithm. Employees were encouraged to check out projects their coworkers were developing, something unheard of in secretive Silicon Valley.By corporate America's yardstick, the Google environment was borderline anarchic -- employees could spend 20% of their time working on a side project, in hopes it could become Google's next big thing.
But some employees already worry that with Page and Brin officially out of the day-to-day picture, the company will feel rudderless in what are definitely turbulent times.
Activists within the search giant have protested decisions by leadership, including the signing of an artificial intelligence contract with the Pentagon and Google's work in China. Most notably, 20,000 employees walked out of their offices last November to protest leadership's handling of sexual assault allegations.
The pair used to be mainstays at Google's famed TGIF meetings, weekly all-company gatherings and one of Google's most time-honored traditions.
Original article