Should I Change My Name?

Hello to everyone who reads the blog! I’m Mina, a pro Porsche fan.

…Wait, what even is a “pro Porsche fan”? (-_-)

Ever since I revamped this blog last month, I’ve found myself wondering from time to time: “Who am I, exactly?”

There’s no doubt I’m a Porsche fan. But my husband says, “You won’t find anyone else in Japan who loves the Panamera that much.” I check the official Porsche Japan website every day, and I even visit Porsche repair shops to report on them… I started to think I might not be your typical Porsche fan.

None of the Usual Labels Quite Fit

That said, I’m not a “motoring journalist.” I don’t know much about how cars are built, and I don’t have any inside track for breaking car news. What about a “car writer”? I’m not well-versed in cars beyond Porsche, and I don’t write articles on assignment, so “writer” doesn’t feel quite right either.

At the moment, “car blogger” might be the closest fit. But even though I write about cars, I write almost exclusively about Porsche (and at first, I wrote only about the Panamera—LOL), so it still doesn’t quite feel right.

And so I kept wondering, more and more, what exactly I was.

A Tweet from Pro Shakureya

Recently, I came across someone on Twitter called Pro Shakureya. It became part of my daily routine to read his posts and think, “That’s interesting,” or “Huh, he has a point.” Then yesterday, I heard that for a few hours only, his note on “How to Use Twitter to Gain 10,000 Followers in Five Months” was free, so I read it right away (it’s paid again now). Right at the start, I found an answer to the very thing I’d been wrestling with.

“Your real name is obsolete.”

…Wait, what does “obsolete” mean in this context ( ﾟдﾟ )?

I was born in the Showa era, and had never heard the Japanese slang term “owakon,” so I looked it up. It means “a thing of the past”—literally, “finished content.” In other words, the era of making a name for yourself under your real name is over.

Unless you’re already famous, your real name doesn’t matter much to your readers or followers. And trying to stand out using your real name is a fiercely competitive game, especially when there are already so many people better known than you. So, it’s better to come up with a phrase that describes you yourself.

That makes sense… If you create the phrase yourself, you’re a pioneer in that field.

The note suggested a few ways to come up with a phrase that represents you: combine a familiar value with something new; keep it simple enough to understand at a glance; pair opposites, like the band name “Mr. Children”; or choose something that invites people to ask questions…

So What Could Mine Be?

So what am I? …Whenever I try to come up with ideas like this, my mind goes completely blank—even I’m surprised by how little inspiration I have (LOL).

How about “Mrs. Porsche,” like Mr. Children?

No, that makes no sense. Does it mean I’m Mrs. Porsche? I can just imagine the Porsche family complaining.

Queen of the Panamera

Nope, that won’t work. Maybe if I’d bought ten Panameras myself… And besides, I’m not really the queenly type. Then again, there’s no reason to make it about gender. I muttered to myself and tossed around a few more ideas before finally landing on this:

Pro Porsche Fan

It means a professional Porsche fan, and it also carries the idea that I’m aiming to become an expert Porsche fan. But it sounds a bit like propolis, the ingredient in honey, so… I’m not sure about it. I might change it again, but for now, this is what I’ve settled on.

So, nice to meet you—I’m Mina, a Porsche fan! (LOL) Hmm… I’m still not sure about it.