Love the nerdy thing out loud. The people worth knowing will find you through it.

Enthusiasm stated plainly acts as a signal. When you hide what you actually like, you become harder to find, and the people who share it walk past without knowing. Saying it out loud costs a little dignity with those who do not care and makes you visible to the ones who do.

Mention the thing you usually downplay, once, to somebody new. No apology in front of it. The response sorts people quickly, and the ones who lean in are worth considerably more than the ones you were protecting yourself from.