With terror threats to our nation at peak levels and risks of the deadly Ebola disease spreading throughout the globe, the world is truly a scary place at this point in time. As wonderful as it would be to assume that everyone was your friend and that we all had each others' best interests in mind, this is certainly not the case.

As the Visual Web continues to evolve, social streams are being flooded with snapshots, GIFs and emojis. We are moving toward an increasingly visual digital landscape - a shift that Millennials are not just cheerily embracing but actively driving.

We know young consumers are picky, and not always easy to please when it comes to marketing. Sometimes a campaign can be so close to getting it right, but the slightest detail stands out to turn them off. From hashtag misuse to gender stereotyping missteps, marketing to young consumers sometimes feels like a land mine of mistakes-especially when targeting a generation who has no problem telling you when you've got it wrong. As we say so often, understanding the way that Millennials see themselves is a vital part to messaging to them in the right way. Here are two recent …

Fashion trends come and go ... this is as true today as it was 50 years ago. However, for Millennials, particularly those in the younger half of the generation bracket, there has been quite a shift in preferences over the past decade.

In the past decade and a half since Millennials first entered the job market, there has been a huge amount of scholarship and prose about how to more effectively manage Generation Y workers. Much of the focus has been on the challenges associated with an older generation of managers who are struggling to understand and accommodate the needs and expectations of this younger generation.

Millennials engage with social media habitually, often checking their profiles daily (or even hourly) from their mobile devices, tablets or laptops. Despite their consistent presence, social businesses have faced many challenges connecting with this particular audience. One key issue: Following businesses through social media is not a priority for Millennials, who prefer to use it to connect with friends and follow celebrities. So how can a business earn the attention of this ubiquitous yet elusive audience and keep them coming back for more?

Previously believed to be generally uninterested in the auto industry, Millennials have begun to surpass their predecessor (Gen X) in car purchases, as an analysis done by J.D. Power and Associates has proved. Millennials now account for 26% of new car purchases while Gen X accounts for 24%. Baby Boomers still account for the largest segment of new car purchases, holding a majority of 34%, however marketers are increasingly paying less and less attention to the demographic. Gen Y, the Millennials, are the fastest growing segment due to their age, more so, their youth.

"Rainbow Brite," "Sailor Moon," "Powerpuff Girls," "The Magic School Bus," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"-though this may sound like a greatest kid's TV hits of the '80s and '90s list, it's also a list of just some of the recent entertainment reboots and revivals being brought back to life in order to play into Millennials' undying nostalgia.

It is no secret that Millennials are, by and large, social media enthusiasts. With the expansion of the social networking landscape in recent history, Millennials are not just connecting online with friends; they are connecting online with thought leaders, experts, idols, and any other figures they are interested in but might not actually know in real life.

Advertising on visual platforms is being touted as the future of marketing. Marketers are increasingly shifting their strategies to visual platforms, and the era of Snapshot Marketing is beginning. But the look and feel of the content on these platforms are also beginning to seep outside of social, and Millennials and Instagram-style imagery are changing the way that advertising looks.