Nate Walker
NMD 200 Blais
12/1/25
NMD 200 has reframed technology for me, as more than a tool, but a part of a massive ecosystem. Through various projects like my ecohacks, interviews, mind map, and explainer video, I learned the relationship between my digital presence and Permaculture Ethics and its principles: Earth Care, People care, and share. As a marketer, this has been an interesting experience, considering a large part of my job will ultimately be leveraging people’s digital presence to turn them into customers. This class has encouraged me to evaluate how to do so morally, encouraging customers to purchase products through ethical means. To some degree I feel that this contradicts the nature of marketing and the nature of a capitalist system on the whole. It is important that I stay true to my values, marketing ethically, and encouraging education and reflection.
- What did this course help you notice?
This course helped me notice that my digital presence is largely manipulated and guided, aimed at turning me into a consumer. We unpacked this throughout the semester, but my interest in how deep it ran was sparked during the Eco-hacks project. When reflecting on my digital presence, I realized I spent much more unproductive time online then I had thought. I am typically trying to unwind when I use social media, and only plan on using it for a couple minutes at a time. This was not reflected in the audit, as I averaged around an hour a day. Thanks to in class discussions and videos, I knew that this was not a coincidence, but rather evidence of the algorithms capitalizing on my procrastination and short attention span. I have since deleted tiktok and more than halved my time spent on social media weekly. More importantly, as I now understand my attention is a commodity platform fight over, I have become much more vigilant and much less susceptible.
- How did creativity and digital craft come together in your work? ‘
Throughout this course, and across my work, the craft has always been just as important as the idea. This has been prevalent in my digital practices since I began editing videos. As I understand it, there are two primary factors that make a video succeed and go viral, “The Craft” technical skill, style, audio and SFX & “The Idea” which is the concept and thought behind the video. I have met with viral success on 4 occasions and each time it required complete success and originality in both categories. This formed my basis of success for creative projects, and I hold myself to a high standard both conceptually and technically. I think this is exemplified by several projects, especially my project 3. I combined technical skills like rule-of-thirds, intentional lighting, and open space with thoughtful questions, creating a compelling exploration of a tight family unit and how they sustain themselves and their relationships. I aim to create honest and visually compelling content that resonates emotionally and encourages the audience to reflect on their own decisions, beliefs, and relationships.
- How did your work imagine or communicate better futures?
Across this course, and my work in general, I aim to inform, providing the viewer with all the tools to form their own educated opinion. In this class this meant tackling big problems like burnout, the attention economy, and climate change in a way that feels digestible and offers future steps. My Eco-hack is a great example of this, turning sustainability into a simple dorm practice for my roommates, clearly defined by a checklist, rules, and rotating roles. This provides concrete steps that any group of roommates can take easily, to limit energy usage and encourage sustainability. My family interview also encouraged a better future, highlighting concrete steps a person can take to feel more in touch with their community. Ultimately, my work makes change feel possible, almost easy. It challenges large systemic issues by offering simple starting points, small actions that feel realistic. My goal isn’t to fix, but provide the viewer with the tools to take steps, however small, towards a better future.
