It's 2004 . 2005 is almost around the corner and we still don't have a name for this decade. What's more, it doesn't seem to bother folks much. But not having a name for this decade is a problem business will need to address sooner, rather than later. Okay, it may not have the importance of Sarbenes Oxley but it has wide social implications.
You'd think the people at Time Life Records would be concerned. They make a bunch of money promoting music of the '60s,'70s and so on.
I called them. They acted as if I were from a different planet saying that "No, they weren't concerned that the decade didn't have a name."
"But how are you going to market music of this decade, if it doesn't have a name?" I asked.
The guy I was talking to said it wasn't his job ,adding that he didn't have time to talk.
I also called some local radio stations asking if it was becoming a problem for them. So far, being able to say they play the music of the '80s, 90s and Today seems to be working for them.
It's not working for me. I want this decade to have a name. Sure, I can write a sentence that compares the ‘90s to the ‘00s It's just that I don't know what word to give to the '00s. Is it The Oh’s? The Uh-Ohs?The aughts? The o-zone? The double naughts? It’s doubtful that people think of any of them. It’s like 
the symbol we were supposed to use for the artist formerly known as Prince. It meant nothing to most of us.
This decade deserves better. While wannabe sloganeers have valiantly tried to come up with a name that “sticks”, to date, the choices have as much stickiness as Britney Spear’s first marriage. Congratulations Britney on marriage #2.
The problem, of course, is that none of those names are cool. The first decade of the millennium, needs a cool name. Cool names are evidently hard to come by.
That hasn’t stopped the British. While we are quite content to have a no-name decade, our allies across the pond have not only settled on a name, they’ve gotten the Oxford Dictionary Seal of Approval. The decade, according to Oxford, is called “Noughties.” The dictionary defines Noughties as: the decade between 2000-2009. ORIGIN: 1990s: from NOUGHT on the pattern of the twenties, thirties, etc.
The term is popping up in British periodicals. In 2000, Helen Stewart ,writing about fashion for The Scotsman in Edinburgh, Scotland had an article with this headline: “Noughties but nice.” The article went on to say, “the 1990s and the Noughties have yet to stamp their fashion identities on the global consciousness.”
In 2001, M2 Presswire, included an article about MP3 players that said, “After the Walkman in the Eighties and the Discman in the Nineties, the Personal JukeBox is set to revolutionise portable music in the Noughties.”
In September 2003, the Daily Telegraph in London reported on a survey that indicated people are happier than they were 15 years ago. Despite that ,the article goes on to say the survey of happiness found, “The Noughties generation do still get down from time to time; a lack of time and money, unruly children, untidy houses and the Government can all wipe the smiles from people's faces.”
Americans are as likely to call this decade "The Noughties" as they are to describe a perfect summer day as 29 ° celsius.
First, we need a cool name. The problem is we've been trying to come up with a name that worked with the decades of the past century. Get over it. We're in the 21st century now and need a 21st century name. Something that has the appeal of Y2K.
Y2K was an enormously successful name. Looks good in print. Plays well in a sound bite. It’ s got a good beat. So why not, as some have advocated, call this decade D1-2K--thats decade one , 2000.
In a generation that is creating the IM language, D1-2K fits in just swell. More than that, D1-2K has gravitas.
Those other choices: the uh-ohs, the o-zones, the double naughts are just plain silly. If D1-2K capture the media’s imagination as quickly as the word gravitas did back in 2000, this entire nameless era will be over in a matter of days.
The gravitas phenomenon is legendary. Not your run of the mill vocab word, gravitas became an overnight vernacular sensation after some reporter, somewhere, said Bush added Cheney to the ticket for “gravitas.”
The media couldn’t resist. Soon media pundits were repeating gravitas ad nauseam. That’s what we need now—the gravitas effect.
Where better for that to happen than in a blog? If bloggers can help bring down CBS Anchor Dan Rather, than surely they can play a role in naming this decade.
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