Over in the discussion area of our Knowledge Network, Lisa Orrell, author of "Millennials Incorporated," is fielding questions from readers about millennials in the workplace, as well as broader generational career topics. What's great about reading her responses so far, as well as her recent interview with IT Business Edge's Ann All, is the optimistic tone she brings to a topic that makes most of us nervous in one way or another these days. For example, she writes:

"... if you can look past the next 1-2 years, the job market for millennials will be outstanding, and the aggressive recruting of them (that was happening 12-18 months ago!), will happen again. And this labor force trend will also benefit other generations. The bottom line is that there are simply not enough people to fill the slots that large corporations and small-medium sized businesses will need to grow and remain competitive."

That's not to say that they won't have strong job prospects in the intervening period, but even if their career trajectories are a bit slow right now, they're still in high demand as users and barometers of the popularity of products, especially tech products. For the next couple of months, for example, Microsoft is targeting the demographic to help improve the download rate of its Internet Explorer 8 browser, by partnering with the cause Feeding America to donate $1.15 per download, up to $1 million, for each complete download through the promotion site.

Says Ben Carlson, the chief strategy officer for Bradley and Montgomery, which created the campaign, "For the younger audience, it's a way to do a little bit of good by doing something easy." Carlson goes on to explain that millennials use their tech savvy to influence their parents and coworkers on tech decisions, according to AdWeek. Therefore, it is crucial to stay engaged with them from the beginning of a product launch. Makes sense, since these youngsters have been plugged in one way or another 24/7 since birth. And remember that they're going to be filling all those jobs in the next couple of years, and bringing their tech and their recommendations into the workplace with them. The campaign includes videos designed as fake public service announcements, presumably created in hopes that they will be virally distributed. Inexplicably, though, they feature Bobcat Goldthwait and Dean Cain, neither of which are within even a decade of the millennials.

Be sure to check the "Millennials Incorporated" excerpt available for download in the Knowledge Network.

Become a fan of IT Business Edge on Facebook and follow us on Twitter today.