Wikipedia
GlobalWebIndex is a market research firm founded by Tom Smith in 2009. The company provides consumer data to the advertising industry.
Reported to be the "world's most detailed syndicated research into online consumer behaviors", GlobalWebIndex profiles consumers in 32 countries and represents 89% of the worldwide internet audience.
In October 2012, GlobalWebIndex surprised social media analysts and commentators by claiming that Twitter and Facebook had big followings in China and Vietnam - countries where those social networks are blocked by their respective governments. The story was picked up by various news outlets including Huffington Post, Bloomberg and the Financial Times where the rise of VPN has been attributed as the primary enabler for Chinese internet users circumventing website blocks.