When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan issued a nationwide ban of Twitter in March, it sparked widespread fury both across the nation and beyond. But amidst tweets of discontent and condemnation, the ban has proven to be profitable for one intrepid American technology start-up: AnchorFree

The California-based enterprise sells Hotspot Shield throughout Europe - a free service and tool that enables users to connect to the internet via a Virtual Private Network (VPN). As well as hiding their publicly visible IP address, Hotspot Shield helps users access websites that are blocked by Turkey's national government.

Since the Twitter ban was implemented, AnchorFree has seen an increase in Hotspot Shield's popularity, with the company registering more than 800,000 downloads from Turkey within the first few days.

The story highlights the power of Ecosystem Economics™, and shows the influence that even the smallest David enterprise can now have. While Twitter was hampered by Erdogan's actions, AnchorFree seized the opportunity to make a real difference, demonstrating the power of innovative tech startups to further the cause of freedom and democracy against all the odds. We can't wait to see what they do next.