Like a highly skilled artist that works in clays or oils, a well seasoned practical joker will hand craft his or her prank. The practical joke will be customized for a specific audience and have its own personality.  The five components of a great practical joke include (and are not limited to) the following

1. Timing:  As any great comedian will tell you, timing is everything and it is never more true than with a good prank.  Flashing an embarrassing website on the screen of a co-worker is best done with the boss present.  Do it when no one is present and you have wasted your time.  Your two best tools to control the timing of delivery include remote control of your practical  joke and the scheduling of your practical joke.  We will talk more about both in future posts.
2. Irritation Factor: The more irritating a prank is, the more satisfying it is to the perpetrator.  No joke!  If you know someone who cannot stand Justin Beiber then the chief components of a good joke would include songs and pictures of Justin Beiber. Oh, and don’t forget nomination to the president of the Justin Beiber fan club.  Pegging the irritation factor meter requires some thought and personalization of your hand-crafted practical joke.
3. Not Easily or Quickly Figured Out:  Ah, the longer the joke drags on, the more job satisfaction delivered to the prankster.  You don’t want the results of you efforts to dissolve minutes after your work is unveiled.  You want staying power.  You want to give the gift that keeps on giving…days or weeks later.
4. Rarely Used:  How funny is recycling a gag that has been around since the sixties? Especially when we have such cool new technology at our fingertips. No, we don’t want to just dust off the rubber hot dogs or the shocking cigarette lighters. We want to deliver fresh new gags–again optimizing our internal satisfaction.
5. Does Little Damage:  While your prank can appear to cause great destruction, it is best if in reality it does no harm.  You must always maintain that delicate balance between ticking all your friends off and delivering the maximum level of  jokage.