There's no such thing as trying to be funny. Humor is subjective. Humor is how ever you think should be funny, not how everyone ELSE thinks on why something is funny. Let loose on your ideas. you may get negativity from people, but then again, there's no such thing as "flawless feedback".
For example, there's people who think Monty Python's productions are amazingly humorous to the point of becoming a major cult classic in media entertainment history. There's others who think it isn't. Obviously, the loving audience outweighs the unloving. Personally, I don't find myself laughing at the jokes and gags, but it's an acquired taste by people, and I see how they would laugh at it.
What I'm getting at is that you should do what you feel is funny. Don't do what others think is funny, because that's how you become confused in the source material. Parody and satire could be a way to go, but don't try to limit yourself just to it. You can try to become creative in your jokes, and that actually is a really good thing. Cleverness in humor makes it more humorous... in my opinion. And as of what a lot of others said in this topic, be yourself. Don't limit yourself to appeal to the majoring audience. That's why shows like Family Guy isn't funny... again, in my opinion.