Activist Wael Ghonim wrote a note on his Facebook page to the activists who are speaking on behalf of the January 25th Revolution in the media. In reference to public relations, he entitled the note ‘PRevolution’ which contains 12 pieces of advice for dealing with the media.

The 12 points which the former marketing executive of Google Middle East makes are as follows:

1- Choose your media outlet. Media is no longer confined to television; it has expanded to include twitter, blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook. A number of activists now have hundreds or even thousands of friends and followers who can transfer his or her status and views through the internet in one click. It is not uncommon for a mere twitter status to be published in a newspaper read by thousands or mentioned on a television show viewed by millions.

2- Determine what you are hoping to achieve with your media appearance. If you are targeting a particular group of activists, take into account what the group is trying to achieve. You should know the exact stance of your audience. Recently, some interviews with activists have shown them to be addressing themselves instead of the public; this is dangerous because it makes the revolution lose its popularity in the street.

3- Address the people in the street from their perspective and not from yours. Not everyone has had the same experiences as you. Millions of Egyptians did not go to Tahrir Square during the revolution and their support of the revolution may be temporary and associated with their personal understanding of the national interest. There will be a big difference in opinion between someone who witnessed martyrdom first-hand, and someone who saw a video clip on YouTube.

4- Do not shout. A loud voice was a sign of bravery during Mubarak's regime but after February 11, it is being now considered a sign of arrogance and may lead to distrust. The revolution now needs moderate and logical voices to convince people to watch and discuss.

5- Differentiate between what you say to your friends in the real world and your followers in virtual world- users of social media networks and television viewers do not know you at all. You should speak in a more balanced way when you address millions of people who you do not know. If you are not prepared to address the people in this way, you should leave it to someone who is.

6-Do not make fun of the people and ideas you do not agree with because this will divide the people into four groups: a group that will agree with your views but will add nothing new, a neutral group that will admire your sarcasm yet will not be convinced, a group that will not admire your sarcasm and will therefore stand with the people or idea you scorn and a group that already follows the principles you mock and will therefore consider you an enemy.

7- Respect the elderly whether present or absent because it is a fundamental feature of our society. Recently it was noticed that a group of Revolution Youth have been speaking inappropriately about the older generations and this helped to create a gap between young activists and the older generations.

8- Act, do not just comment. The more you appear in the mainstream media, especially if this appearance is merely comment on recent events and not trying to make positive change, the more it will harm you as young activist. Being constantly in the spotlight can change you as a person.

9- Do not be fooled by the opinions your friends who support an escalation between the activists and military forces. Many people in the street do not support this escalation.

10-Do not forget the silent majority. Lately there has been noticeable disrespect towards the silent majority in Egypt. We have to understand that the reason behind the fall of the former regime is the underestimation of this large portion of society. They joined the protestors during the early days of the revolution and became part of million-man protests. Without that majority, activists would have only numbered 2000. That majority will not mobilise according to the desires of the activists; it will mobilise when it feels that there is an urgent need. Losing this majority will make it hard for us to win the street again and to endorse our demands even if they are logical.

11-Revise the priorities of the revolution and language used in the media. We need to make sure that the revolution is on the right track. There should be focus on the economic and social issues, for example the 40% of Egyptians living under the poverty line. Staying away from these issues widens the gap between the activists and the street.

12-Trust each other. We all seek a better future for Egypt.