Unfortunately, I think some points in the video are completely bogus. First, being a nerd is NOT synonymous with being abused. You may feel like an outsider, but, from my own personal experiences, a lot of what makes you an outsider is self-imposed. I didn't hang out by myself reading because I was pushed away by the masses. I preferred reading and learning to the company of my peers. Maybe the schools I attended were a unique scenario, but there was not a ton of "nerd hate" or groups singled out due to their intelligence.
So, using the imagination exercise is a facile argument, especially because you could use the exact exercise to reinforce arguments about other social/economic/political groups. In other words, you could substitute "poor kid" or any number of racial slurs and evoke the same kind of response. What was said about "outsiders" is neither a uniform experience amongst intellectuals nor is it unique to nerd culture. Using this as an argument is a glib way to gain sympathy for the narrator's cause of "protecting nerd culture".
Second, his skewering of the Big Bang Theory had some serious holes. Again, because the tropes he stated could be applied to nearly ANY sitcom. In a ton of comedy sitcoms, there's always the clowns, the straight man (or woman) who often acts not only as a grounding agent, but sometimes as a projection of the audience (a curious observer to an alien culture/group), and the mothering character. Lets look at the shows the character holds up as "good" examples (as opposed to Big Bang Theory being "bad"). I'll note now that I haven't watched much of the Big Bang Theory (probably about 4 hours combined), but think I know enough to make a distinct counterpoint.
Frasier commonly shows it's intellectuals as stuffy and dependent on social structure to get by (ie - lack of "street smarts"). The protagonists are often reeled in from their goofy antics by their own versions of the tropes mentioned above, the ex-cop father, Daphne, or Roz. Through their interaction with non-intellectuals, they grow as people.
In BBT, the two main nerds, Leonard and Sheldon, have a very similar relationship to Frasier and Niles. There's the "normal" one and the eccentric one. Penny (from what I've seen from the little I've watched BBT) often fills every other role (depending on what the writers decide that episode), going from grounding the clowns, mothering them when they fail, or just as an outside voice in this particular sub-culture of people. As a result of her outside opinion, they grow as people.
In regards to IT Crowd, the same tropes apply. The two nerdy guys (one normal and one a little less so) are joined by a "normal" woman (though, it's British TV, so no one is ever completely normal) who acts as an outsider/trespasser into their nerd world they've built. This forces them to grow as people....yada, yada, yada.
I guess if I had a summary (backed up by the narrator), it's that his argument is one I've heard a thousand times from a thousand different "cultures". You can't stop assimilation. What you can do is, instead of being a cultural gatekeeper (saying who gets to be nerd and who doesn't), be a cultural ambassador. Closing a culture off from the populous masses has never yielded ANY substantial results. If anything, you are remitting yourself to not be included in the gradual nerd-ification of America. If nerds are cool and people want to be cool, they will look to follow nerds. If you are a nerd, you can wield influence over those who wish to be like you.
If you leave it to corporations to set the nerd bar for the public, you are just asking for a nerd-centric, Hot-Topic-esque store. If you're a vocal, inclusive nerd ambassador, the chances that the popular opinion of nerds to be something that you can stand goes up.
Post-note: Your comments about iTunes being the death of the DIY heart of punk rock is completely false. Digital distribution methods are a great way for independent artists to make sure their music is available to the masses without involving a major record label.
