Despite the enormous contribution of the left toward democratizing media in general, and the influence of the left on the Internet itself, the first wave of the video revolution on the Internet has corporate roots. In 2009, the ubiquity and ease with which anyone can distribute video to a
large audience is largely a result of YouTube and the Adobe Flash video format. The second wave of this revolution is yet to come. Given the economic crisis, and the growing strength of the progressive movement both in the US and internationally, now is a critical time for the left to define and develop the next wave in video distribution.