The UK, why?
Actually I tell a lie, I am fairly enthusiastic about my NES (online game which I host on this site). That's definitely not mainstream, but then ultimately it's mainly writing on my part which isn't all that bad. It's also far more sociable then video games.
I don't think you can really be a nerd/geek/whatever in just a single small area though. To really be classified as one there has to be a combination of factors, because after all everyone has their own little quirks. Even me.
Also, I think appearance counts for something. Oftenly nerds/geeks aren't all that interested in their appearance, and when I picture one in my head I see a shrimpy, pale, brown-haired kid with braces and glasses. That is very subjective though.
If you have the right appearance, and you're confident enough you can usually carry off the odd nerdy impulse without being thought off as out of line with the mainstream.
I am late to the conversation obviously. Nobody answered about why you were asked where you live: That would be due to the fact that each society is VASTLY different. Thus your claim to follow the mainstream needs to be localized, as the UK mainstream and the Thai Mainstream (honestly, just pick any other country separated by more than a 3 day drive) would be drastically disparate entities.
In your last paragraph though, you strike on the true definition of popularity: Confidence.
If someone does something completely outside the norm, it gains attention from other people. It makes them uncomfortable initially, as it has disturbed their status quo. They will seek to return to a comfort zone, which means seeking out "the appropriate response" to the abnormality. That is where the confidence comes in.
If you are timid about your action, or otherwise portray insecurity, then the chances of ridicule rise dramatically. As soon as ridicule is initiated, then what you did is perceived as aberrant and undesirable. In come negative labels and being shunned.
If you are absolutely confident about your action however, there is a high probability that you shall exude a comfort zone of your own, or otherwise convince the psyche of the onlookers to believe that popular opinion will go your way. They are uncomfortable about you having done something out of the ordinary, but if your actions intone that what you did was perfectly standard, then objecting to your action would make
them be the one who is acting out of norm. So they shift their perceptions to account for what you did as being acceptable.
That is the difference between a social outcast and a trendsetter.
Of course, the subtleties of subconscious do not apply so well when you come up against someone who
knows (ie - has it deeply ingrained into their mentality) that what you did is not "acceptable" behavior. Then it is rare to possess enough confidence to shift them into seeing you as appropriate.
In summary: If you act like you belong, then you do.
They definitely are. I have to admit I don't really understand your point of view though, why would you not like something just because most other people do?
I have to admit to being the same. The more popular something is, the less I like it. In part I will have to admit that it is somewhat of an elitist mentality, but I feel that is something which came after the tendency to avoid that which is mainstream.
Main reason I avoid things which are widely accepted and pursue those things which are considered inferior is because I wonder why that distinction is made: Is there a logical reason for it, a clear better choice, or is it prejudice and preconception driving people away from what is possibly the better option?
Besides, you can easily pick up the mainstream whenever you want, as it is widely understood/documented. While if you find a need for that which is shunned, it is difficult to fill the requirement in a timely manner. Thus if you are the expert on the ignored, any crowd you are in at any point in time is more capable than it would be if you followed convention, and thus knew little that wasn't already known by random bystanders.
And yes, Grey Fox, this is page 9 for me