Ah, April Fools’ Day. That dreaded day of the year that news editors and the gullible public love to hate. While we can’t wait to see what amusing pranks the likes of Google are cooking up, you can plot your own fun in the meantime.
We’ve got 10 suggestions, ranging from vintage classics to more up-to-date tricks that you can play on your colleagues, friends and frenemies.
If your office has a good sense of humor and you’re looking for a bit of light-hearted, harmless fun this April 1, take a look through the gallery for our ideas and please share your own suggestions in the comments box below.
1. Speech Recognition
Create an official looking notice (as per the house style of your workplace) informing staff that an item of office equipment is now equipped with speech recognition technology. Add a few suggested commands. Stick the notice to the equipment. Sit back and watch your colleagues shout at an inanimate object. Secretly video the action for prolonged fun.
2. Crossed Wires
Simple, yet effective. Just switch the telephone plugs of your colleagues’ phone lines (leaving their phones in exactly the same place) and enjoy the confusion as they repeatedly receive calls for each other. Works best with coworkers that aren’t on the best terms to start with.
3. Quick Change
This one requires a little planning and collaboration, but the effect will be worth the effort. Arrange with coworkers to each bring in several changes of clothes. Then, throughout the morning repeatedly switch items of clothing. Ensure your mark sees you all in as many different items as you can manage. Wait for the other shoe to drop.
4. Fun with Mice
Anyone leaving their mouse unattended around April 1 deserves punishment. While the classic trick was to remove the mouse’s tracker ball, nowadays you can achieve the same effect by putting some tape over the mouse’s laser tracker. Alternatively, and if you can find time with an unattended computer, change the mouse’s settings for maximum confusion.
5. Hunt the Paper Clip
This is another oldie-but-goldie for anyone in an office where a photocopier is still regularly used. Place a paper clip over or on a piece of blank paper and make several copies. Now, place them back on the top of the paper tray. Hang around to see your colleague’s confusion as they desperately try and find the strange paper clip that’s showing up on all their copies.
6. This Stall is Occupied
For this you’ll need a pair of shoes, a pair of trousers, some newspaper (or something similar) for stuffing and possibly a step ladder. In a toilet stall with a gap at the bottom, set up your items of clothing to look as if someone is using the conveniences. Lock the stall (from the outside if possible, otherwise this is where the step ladder comes in) and leave your mystery “person” to confuse (and very possibly worry) restroom users for the rest of the day.
7. BSoD
This is perhaps more effective with older colleagues who are likely to have experienced the pain of the “Blue Screen of Death.” For this prank, it’s just a matter of finding an appropriate screen grab and either leaving it on your co-worker’s display, or setting it as the screen saver for a nasty surprise.
8. Can You Hear That?
Find, or make a recording of a repetitive noise (a heart beat works well for maximum distress) or dig out a portable radio. Set the volume to just audible and hide it in a filing cabinet, cupboard, drawer, etc., near to your mark. Now wait for your colleague to ask if anyone else can hear that heart beat/static/music and prepare to deny all. Several times. A straight face is essential.
9. Wrong Number
Does your office issue a paper list of phone extensions? If so, there’s fun to be had. You need to access the master doc (or re-create it if need be). Swap the extensions and then replace your target’s list with the doctored version. Obviously you’ll need to replicate any creases, edits, coffee stains and so on, but if you can pull this off, you’re in for a treat as your unsuspecting mark blithely dials a work buddy and instead gets the MD.
10. Just Smirk it Out
Our last prank is especially effective if your colleagues are expecting you to pull some kind of stunt. This April Fools’, just do nothing. Sit and smirk at everything on the morning of the 1st. They will rack their brains desperately trying to work out what you’ve plotted. You can help out their anxiety levels with loaded comments to match your smirk. “Enjoy your coffee.” “Have you used the water cooler yet today?” “Aren’t you going to answer that?”
Thumbnail image courtesy of iStockphoto, kutaytanir, gallery images courtesy of Flickr, Josh Derr, Kate, jrpinky_boi, Daniele Pieroni, jessi, Eric P, Josh Liba, Ren Adams, Martin Pettitt and Tricia
Use the blog to position yourself as an industry expert. Write about what’s going on at your company but also consolidate important and interesting industry happenings so that others will look to you as a resource and expert in the field. Make your blog worth reading by collecting valuable content and making it easier to stay on top of for readers.
Absolutely don’t create a advertorial time drain. … We have plenty of those around! Write something that adds value instead. Write something that educates, inspires and informs your audience. Real-life stories written by readers are the best way to keep the content engaging. Success stories in your genre/industry could be a great start to involve masses at both ends, creating and consuming content.
If you’re not willing to put the hard and persistent effort into building an audience over a prolonged period of time, your best bet might be to look at guest writing opportunities on existing blogs, websites, email newsletters or even in print publications, which have large and established readerships. Every publisher and media company is always looking for quality contributors who deliver value.
There is no overnight method to create a respected and popular blog. Remember, general “hits” are insignificant compared to loyal readers — and there is no way to build loyalty immediately. Focus on providing excellent content by balancing both company insights and personality. A good blog to model for you may be 
“If you build it, they will come” is not how it works with blogs and websites. You need to focus on creating unique content, and when you do post something, be sure to share it with everyone in your network. Never underestimate those in your network because they may just be the people who become your voices.
As we know, anyone can set up a blog in a day or so, but it takes quite a bit more work to be a superb blogger and start realizing the real benefits of blogging. Creating entertaining and informative posts based on specific experiences and statistics is a fast track way to grow a loyal readership. Show your readers that their comments are appreciated, make sure you respond to them!
Too many companies focus the company blog on promoting a product line and trying to make more sales rather than focusing on solving readers’ problems. Think of questions and concerns your audience has or better yet, ask them. Then address those concerns on the blog. For example, a mechanic shop can discuss car maintenance tips and tell readers what they need to know before buying a new car.
If you aren’t willing to commit to developing a high quality blog (it’s hard), then don’t start one. Instead, develop relationships with other successful bloggers in your industry. Ask whether you can write an occasional blog post for them and point back to your company website. This is a great way to optimize your exposure and stay non-committal about writing a regular blog post.
Your blog content should appeal first and foremost to your customers and potential customers. Think about what they would want to read and form your content around meeting their needs in a unique way. To increase readership, you can include links to these articles in your company email newsletter.
Blogging won’t be a successful marketing avenue for you overnight. It might never be. Here’s a good test: The first two months of starting a blog are the most difficult because it feels like nobody is reading. If you can keep yourself focused on a topic and remain consistent over that first two-month period then you probably have what it takes to run a successful blog. If you can’t, just stop.
Interviews are a great source of content and allow you to tap into others networks. Find the experts in your industry and especially the experts with an online presence who will mention the interview.
Interested in more Business resources? Check out 
