For years, we've discussed millennials as if, at best, they were some sort of novelty. Or, at worst, an annoyance, a temperamental demographic that lived as cultural aliens.

(Full disclosure: Born in 1970, I sit squarely in the middle-child generation known only as X, as if we were a simple unknown in the equation sandwiched between the almighty Boomers and the up-and-coming Millenials. We might not be as revered as our elders, but we get nowhere near the attention our successors do. In short, I've got no dog in this fight.)

But Millenials are much more than a niche audience brokers are forced to deal with or employers have to live with. In fact, according to the latest data from the number-crunchers at Pew Research, Millenials will hit 75 million strong this year, surpassing the dwindling Boomers as this country's largest age demographic.