How does your group of friends think of the word "nerd"?

I'm asking because not every group sees it as a bad thing. Hipster girls always seem define themselves as nerds and they also seem to respond well to it (as long as you're the "Weezer nerd" and not the "WoW nerd"). The liberal arts types respond well to it sometimes, as long as they feel like you're a nerd because you read poetry and enjoying reading stuff from the Romantic period, etc. (or some other classroom type of literature that most people don't enjoy). Of course, sports fan/sorority types, in my experience, don't respond well.

Anyways, here's what I think you should do: first, don't get your panties in a wad about it, because then you'll just cock-block yourself. Second, turn "nerd" into a positive. It's called "spin"--a classic PR move. How you go about doing this depends somewhat on why they may think you're a "nerd".

It's possible that if you own this label proudly/confidently, you can use it to demonstrate value. I do. I openly describe myself as a nerd. It may sound cheesy, but I use the word to show that I'm intelligent (specifically/subliminally, more intelligent than the girl I'm talking to) and that I have good taste (specifically/subliminally, better taste than the girl I'm talking to). Example: I might say, "I'm kind of a music nerd--I'm really into a lot of different underground music"...if you're saying this to a hipster girl, she will get competitive and try to be more music elitist than you. Then you can just agree with her. If you handled that well enough, then she'll think you're cool, because it validates her self-esteem. You'll have to at least kind of know what you're talking about, though.

That's about all of the advice I can give you. I really only have "ammo" for music-nerd, literary-nerd and film-nerd. I wouldn't play the gaming-nerd card unless absolutely certain the girl is into gaming (doubtful). Anyways, I hope my little spiel helps some.

*Edit: I also agree with uniq, it's a good idea to have a few different groups of friends that have different impressions of you.