Nicolas Nova was a fine explorer of the "infra-ordinaire" that emerged in his home city of Geneva, during his trips worldwide as well as his "butinages" online. In his book Exercises d'observation he descripted his field observation practices inspired from writers, anthropologists, ethnographers, designers ou artists.

He would share the world he captured being situations, words, or rituals on his Flickr account and his blog Pasta & Vinegar and well as in his newsletter Lagniappe.

He had research blogs for specific topics. For instance:

• Desalpes reported on a (gonzo-)ethnography of the Alpine space of today/tomorrow. It’s a compilation of weak signals and marginal practices, intriguing places, objects, architectures and infrastructures about the Alps. Beyond the standard cliché about the pristine nature of this area, Desalpes explores how it is constantly recombined, modified, restructured by human and non-human activities.
• Machine Mirabilia is about entities generally found in digital machinery. From computer viruses to software agents ran by Artificial Intelligence technologies, from digital monsters à la Pokémon to smartphone bugs, this research project in anthropology explores what it means to live with such a diversity of creatures.
• Outsigns offers an analysis of material culture with appropriation of objects, ergonomic issues, everyday accidents, and curious configurations.

His seminal project Curious Rituals exemplified this approach by documenting the gestural interactions people develop with digital technologies in everyday life.