High Beef Prices, Tight Crops, Time Banking, Toll Road Backlash, and Beyond LinkedIn

Beef prices at the store feel painful, yet many ranchers are finally breathing easier. We unpack that paradox by tracing tight cattle supply, steady domestic demand, and export strength—then contrast it with row crops, where corn, soybeans, and wheat are squeezed by high input costs, softer demand, and Brazil’s bumper harvests. You’ll hear why economists see input costs, not interest rates, as the main barrier through 2026, and how mixed operations can use livestock to stabilize a struggling crop balance sheet.

From there, we shift to a different kind of currency: time. Time banking turns an hour of your skill—cooking, rides, repairs, or tutoring—into credits you can spend on services you need. It’s old-school barter updated for the digital world, and it’s gaining steam as communities look for ways to stretch budgets, care for elders, and keep local value circulating when cash is tight. We share examples, platforms, and pitfalls, plus explain why mutual accountability is the feature, not a bug.

Policy takes center stage as Indiana seeks approval to toll I-70, converting a free interstate into a pay-to-drive corridor. We run the numbers on per-mile fees and examine the ripple effects: freight avoidance, reduced roadside funding for local towns, and public frustration when tolls fund projects off the corridor. There are smarter ways to modernize road funding—transparent reinvestment, fair EV charges, and road-use pricing that matches wear—without hollowing out main streets.

Finally, we tackle a claim that’s making waves: recruiters say job boards like LinkedIn are effectively broken for specialized roles. AI-powered funnels deliver volume, not fit, so smart teams are returning to relationships, niche communities, and direct sourcing. If you’re job hunting, we lay out a clear playbook for specialized paths—targeted outreach, visible work, warm intros—and explain where traditional boards still help with high-volume hiring. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

Welcome to the Tech Mobility Podcast. Brought to you by Playbook Investors Network. Your strategic partner for unstoppable growth. Visit pincommunity.org to get started.

How Beef Demand Vs Crop Headwinds Impact Farm Income

SPEAKER_01 0:18

I'm Ken Chester. On the docket, where time really equals money, our new state toll roads the answer. And why recruiters say LinkedIn is dead. To join the conversation, be it to ask a question, share an opinion, or even suggest a topic for future discussion, call or text the Tech Mobility Hotline, that number, 872-222-9793, or you can email the show directly. Talk at Techmobility.show. From the TechMobility News Desk, I live in Iowa. And as a result of living in Iowa for as long as I have, I'm always attuned to what is going on in agriculture. Agriculture is a major part, whether it's inputs on the farm, to grain in the bin, to meat on the table. We handle all of that here in the Hawkeye state. And lately I've been talking to some of my friends in the ag industry, particularly ag news reporting, about how a farmer's doing. If you're a livestock farmer with bee with beef and pork, or if you're what we call a row crop farmer, dealing predominantly in Iowa with corn and soybeans. How y'all doing out there? And I wondered, and I stumbled across a piece in Ag Web magazine. And the title is Economic Ec Economists Forecast Farm Economy to Stabilize, but high costs and policy uncertainty block a 2026 rebound. I would love to take you through the weeds on this. We're not going to have time to get as deep as I'd like to, but let me give you the cliff notes. In my conversations with people out and about, I assumed that the pain was equal and mutual between livestock farmers and crow rock farmers. As I read into this report, I found out that's not true. So let me start with the good news. This is for December 2025, and they asked the economists, how would you rate the financial health of the following ag sectors today? And they covered beef, dairy, pork, corn, soybeans, and wheat. Ironically, when it came to beef, 77% rated it as excellent. When it came to dairy, it was 8% excellent, but it was either average or above average relative to dairy. Pork followed a similar trend. And I really thought for a minute. I wasn't surprised so much at dairy. I was, however, surprised at the bullish talk about beef. I thought that a farmer, if he was astute enough to be both row crop and livestock, that he'd still be in a rough way. Not necessarily. The economists talk about the strong domestic demand still for beef. And I know if you've been in a grocery store lately, you've seen the high price of beef. So what's really going on here? Because I'm trying to reconcile the two. On the one hand, you're saying the economists are saying the farmers are in good shape when it comes to livestock. But I'm looking in the store and saying, well, I really can't afford beef right now. I mean, a pound of 80-20 hamburger at your local grocery store. Last time I priced it was almost$7 a pound. That's almost double from what I remember at$3.99,$4.99 a pound. But yet, it said that beef is in particularly good shape. Let me see if I can find specifically what they said. And I'm going to come around to the row crop farmers in a minute. Here we go. What's driving the farm economy right now? When economists were asked to identify the two most important factors shaping agriculture's economic health today, their responses cluster around a familiar but increasingly sharp divide, strong demand in livestock in the protein sector versus persistent oversupply and cross cost pressures on crops, all layered with trade and policy uncertainty. Several economists pointed to the continued strength in beef demand, both domestically and through export channels, as a key stabilizing force. It means if you are both row crop and livestock, and you were fortunate enough to dabble in beef, then it might be the one thing stabilizing your whole farm operation right now is the strength in beef prices. And I understood why pork would be a decent follow-up. If you can't afford beef, then you'd buy pork. That makes sense to me. And pork, for the same reasons, is not quite as crazy. But a lot of this has to do with supply and demand. They've been culling herds in recent years in terms of livestock with beef. So you don't have the big beef herds back in the day. On the other hand, you've got the pork herds, which are big and haven't really shrunk in recent years. Looking to 2026, they said livestock revenues are a bright spot, underscoring why the livestock sector continues to outperform crops financially. Looking to 2026, economists overwhelmingly point to input costs, not interest rates. The cost of growing the crop. That's the fuel, that's the seeds, that's the fertilizer, that's the insecticide, and everything else they need to do to put that crop in the ground and successfully harvest it. As the biggest barrier to profitability. Nearly 70% cited input prices as the largest challenge as well. Far ahead of trade concerns or capital availability, and that's interesting. Because a lot is being made in the press about how trade is damaging farmers. And make no mistake, make no mistake, it has an impact which is negative and putting undue stress if you are a corn or soybean farmer right now. You're underwater. Hard stop. That's a problem. But they don't think that access to capital, which would be the flip side, because I'm thinking if you are solely a crop farmer, a row crop farmer, what we call them out here, 63% of all the corn grown in Iowa, we grow a lot of it, goes into ethanol. And then soybeans are used all sorts of ways, ways I am not even going to get into, but you'd be amazed at how many places soybeans get used. The problem is demand. It's soft. That's a problem. They're looking at South America and the strength of their crops and what they're doing, because they agree, economists agree, the ro the price for crops in the United States is predominantly going to be impacted by the success of crops in South America, most namely Brazil. If they come in with a bumper crop, it does not spell well for us. But it's interesting to note is the cost of growing the crop is the biggest challenge. And the fact they can't get what they need to get per bushel in order to justify planting it. I mean, that's the part that blows my mind. I mean, they're looking at this and they're saying, I mentioned livestock. 46% of economists say corn is poor. Soybeans poor below average, each one. Wheat, same pressure. 38% poor, 62% below average. Wheat, of course, you're thinking about uh the durable North Dakota winter wheat that goes into every a lot of baked goods that we consume. If you are a farmer in the upper Midwest and you are a row crop farmer, you are under a lot of pressure. You've got supply that you can't sell. You got a price per bushel that is less than the cost of the inputs to grow it. And you're trying to figure out how you're gonna do this for 2026. The economists in the know saying that price pressure is going to continue as long as there's uncertainty in the marketplace, you're gonna have challenges. So if you are just a row crop farmer, you're gonna continue to have a tough year. If you had the wisdom to mitigate that with some livestock, then you may not be as bad a shape, but you're not going to have a crazy wild, profitable year. It just means that because of the strength of beef predominantly, things won't get much worse. They also, right now, won't get much better. So while I'm looking at all of this, it while it's challenging, not as bad as I thought. If time is all you have, it might be worth as much as money. That's next. You are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.

SPEAKER_04 10:02

In business, opportunity doesn't wait, and neither should you. At Playbook Investors Network, we connect visionary entrepreneurs with the strategies, resources, and capital they need to win. Whether you're launching, scaling, or reimagining your business, our network turns ambition into measurable success. Your vision deserves more than a plan, it deserves a playbook that works. Playbook Investors Network, where bold ideas meet bold results. Visit pincommunity.org today.

SPEAKER_03 10:34

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SPEAKER_01 11:07

To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting Techmobility.show. You can also drop us a line at talk at Techmobility.show.

SPEAKER_04 11:40

That's where Playbook Investors Network comes in. We're your strategic partner for accelerating growth, navigating challenges, and capturing market opportunities before your competition does. Your business is more than an idea. Let's make it an impact. Playbook Investors Network. Your future starts here. Learn more at pincommunity.org.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Introducing the all-new 2007 Chevy Tahoe. With available features like a power remote lift gate. Power release old and tumble second row seats. And rear view camera system. Chevy Tahoe an American Revolution.

Building Community With Time Credits

SPEAKER_01 12:36

Were you paying attention? That song that is the undercurrent to that Tahoe commercial, I like the way she moves. As they explain the different ways that you can rearrange the cabin through seating and all of that to get the most out of your 2007 Chevy Tahoe, which, by the way, was a redesign year for that next generation 19 years ago. And honestly, between Tahoe and Suburban, Chevy basically re-imagined and recast the upscale SUV with the launch of the Tahoe back in 1995. They shortened a suburban by dropping a foot off of it. And the rest they say is history. And Tahoe just took off like crazy. And everybody's been rushing to emulate Tahoe. Interesting, what happens? I get it. Money's tight. The need list is long and you're struggling. What if I told you that there's a way to get meals, repairs, and rides to where you need to go without spending a dime? Now, back in the day, folks did this kind of stuff all the time. It was called barter, where you exchanged something that you either produced or could do with something uh that you needed, and you guys agreed on a rate. Maybe the guy could fix your wagon and you gave him four chickens or something like that. But it had a plan. Today, the magic is called time credit accounts. Time banks are happening all across the country, and it seems the time itself is having a moment. This is topic A. Imagine an opportunity to monetize something you're doing anyway to get something else you need without having to spend a dime. It's not new. The concept of time banking, is what they call it, has been around since the 1960s and garnered a large following in the early 2000s. Now, some people worried about inflation, an unstable job market, and constantly shifting tariffs are showing renewed interest in trying out alternative methods to spending, including time banking. The systems, usually run by community nonprofits, allow people to trade volunteer services in return for virtual credit for each hour of work. They can then spend time credits on services from other individuals in the time bank network. Think about this for a minute. This really works if you are in situations where your income is limited. Maybe you have a skill that you can monetize, but doesn't lend itself easy to monetizing a skill or a service. Here's an opportunity to take that extra time and actually use it to get stuff that you want or need. Way cool. Way cool. Let me give an example. That time goes into the time bank for something else she might want. Now, the lady who gets the meal, she racks up time credits through her lifelong passion in mending clothes and intricate and intricately fixing jewelry. Can you imagine? Here are people finding a way on their terms to get value out of what they do when they want to do it, and in some cases something that they would do anyway or are doing anyway. The Time Trade Circle was established in 2004, took off soon after the market crash in 2008, counting about 500 members by 2010. It hosted community events, saw thousands of trades from garden work to babysitting to rise at the airport, all for the cost of time, and this is back east. Obviously, the boom didn't last long. Limitations on in-person interactions during COVID and the influx of the gig economy drove community members to be more isolated and move away from time banking. But, again, it's having a moment. Other time banks across the country have noticed an uptick in interest in recent months. The idea of community was on top of mind for the father of Time Banks, a fellow by the name of Edward Edgar Kahn, who is a social justice advocate, law professor, and speechwriter for Robert F. Kennedy. Kahn coined the term time dollars and founded Time Banks USA, now timeks.org, a time banking platform with more than 500,000 members worldwide. His vision of time banking stipulates that everyone has something to give, volunteering counts as work, and that communities should be bound by mutual accountability and respect. Think about this for a minute. Part of that is elder care. Part of that is various jobs that need to get done, but you can't seem to monetize it. Imagine in a smaller community across this state, if people would create a time bank where everybody could participate, where everybody had something to give and could get something. Isn't this a sense of what community is really all about? I think it would be crazy awesome. In Maine, they've got something called our world. And the Maine platform is considered one of the bigger ones, not in the United States alone, but across the world. Time bank members create profiles where they list skills and post-service requests and offers. It's also a way to track how many hours people have in their accounts and oversee transactions. This platform has now around 30,000 members in 22 countries. Main's Time Bank, as part of this, called the Hour Exchange, is called is one of the most active time banks in the New England area with more than 1,500 members. Meaning, time bankers can offer services to members of other time banks, such as a place to stay or a meal when traveling. Again, this very well could be a cure or a solution for vanishing labor in smaller towns, people who are there that have skills that are not necessarily monetizable. But are useful to society. And again, they look at volunteer work counts, hours count. If you're doing no more than maybe sitting with an older neighbor and doing a little light tidying up because they're not able to get around like they used to. Imagine if you can get a benefit from that that helps the community. You're helping the community by doing what you do. You get help from the community for what you need. Time banking, something that could be looked at because we're looking at all sorts of things. It's part of the beautiful part about our digital futuristic world. Sometimes the cures aren't necessarily new school. Sometimes the best solutions are old school. Indiana has a funding shortfall. Is a newly told road the answer? This is the Tech Mobility Show.

SPEAKER_04 21:03

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Indiana’s Plan To Toll I-70

SPEAKER_01 21:35

Did you know that Tech Mobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Each week, I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like, and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out. The state of Indiana is seeking federal approval to toll an existing, keyword there, existing free interstate across the state as a new funding source for transportation projects. The state cites falling gasoline tax revenues as electric and fuel efficient vehicles become more common. I'm sorry, this sounds fishy to me. This is topic B. Now, you will forgive me being a man of a certain age if I'm hearing the music for a song that was out in 1970 called Indiana Wants Me. Let's talk about Indiana's roads for a minute. I've traveled Indiana extensively. Let me tell you the way it is. Right now, the state of Indiana has the Indiana toll road across the north part of the state, runs basically from just outside of Chicago to the Ohio state line. It is and has been forever a toll road. I don't have numbers on what Indiana pulls from that. But it's a toll road. Let me ask you a question. Do you think it's right for a state to take a road that was free access, built with taxpayer dollars? And in fact, when those roads were built, when the interstates were built, it was 90% federal funding, 10% state, but that came from the taxpayer. Is it right for Indiana to turn around and say, I want to or we want to make this toll road? That means anybody that travels Interstate 70 from Missouri across Indiana through Indianapolis and points east into Ohio would pay for the toll road. Although I don't know how exactly that would work going across Indianapolis. Is that okay? Is that okay? And you might be asking, like I was, well, I mean, what is the situation about toll roads in the United States? Well, let me give you. My information's a little dated, but I do want to kind of just give you some background. Just kind of give you an idea. As of 2006, and granted, this is 20 years ago, toll roads exist in 35 states. With the majority of the states without any toll roads being in the West and in the South. Gee, hmm, interesting. As of 2015, 10 years, a little over 10 years ago, there were 5,000 miles of toll roads in the United States of America. 5,000 miles. And as a fellow traveling from Iowa to see my family in Massachusetts, I know a big sloth of that because a big part of my travel is over toll roads. Once I come out of Chicago and I come across Indiana, Ohio, New York, it's all toll. Hundreds of miles of toll road. The Ohio toll road, the New York State through way. And if I'm going all the way to Boston and not taking Route 2, it's the Mass Pike, short for the Massachusetts term pike. All toll road. Although when I get to Albany, I go north and up over the mountains and I leave the mass pike alone. The part that bothers me here for Indiana, other than the fact they want to take a road that was built with taxpayer money and turn it into a toll road, so we've got to pay for it. Now I understand if the road was built new, and that was the scheming plan to pay off the bonds to begin with. I gotcha. Understand, a lot of these roads were built with highway bonds. That they would pledge bonds for 30, 40, 50 years to pay for the construction. And the tolls were supposed to pay for that. I got you. Interstate 70 is already there and has been for decades. Indiana, so we're clear, wants to turn that free interstate into a toll road to raise money for state projects which may or may not have anything to do with Interstate 70. So you're paying to support Indiana infrastructure and not the infrastructure you're traveling across. And Indiana's excuse is well, you know, the increase in electric and fuel efficient vehicles. Okay, people, stop. You can't have it both ways, Indiana. You can't. On the one hand, folks are having a fit about we don't want electric cars, we'll never drive electric cars. Okay, fine, that's your choice as an American. Vote with your money. That is your choice, that is your right. But Indiana, with what's going on at the federal level right now, they're discouraging the sale. So your excuse for saying, well, tax revenues are drying up because of the increase in electric and fuel efficient vehicles. Oh no. Because they're increasing, we got to find another way to fund our projects. Oh no. Blame it on the electric cars. No Indiana, no Indiana, no Indiana. You don't get it both ways. Don't work like that. What bothers me is everybody wants to make the electric vehicle a scapegoat for everything. And trust me, it does have some shortcomings. We've talked about them here. And in fact, about two, three years ago, I told you about my trip to Chicago and a pure electric in the middle of winter. It did not go well. And I talked about that at length. Loved the car, hated the range, hated the charging, hated the time it took. And the fact that I had to go 40 miles out of my way in order to hit the chargers. And I was still late. So, no, just so we're clear, they still have some issues. My issue is that I'm trying to really wrap my head around is you want to take an established interstate and start charging me money for up till now it's been free, and it's a major artery. I mean, there's a bunch of major interstates that come in and around Indianapolis, 70, 77, 65, 69, all federal interstates. They and then the ring, and I believe it's 465, that goes around Indianapolis. You're coming in from all kinds of directions from every kind of where. 70 is gonna go through this as a toll road. And the Indiana legislature changed the laws in Indiana last year to help them be able to do this. So, what is this gonna cost? What is this gonna cost? They're estimating that if Indiana charges like they do on the Northern Toll Road, they're looking at seven cents a mile, roughly a hundred and fifty-mile trip across Indiana on Interstate 70, would now cost passenger vehicles$10.50 and get this now, semi-trailers$57 one way from where it was free before. And they allege that it will probably be more today. What do you think that's going to incentivize? Typically, folks try to avoid toll roads. If you're a trucker, you sure as heck ain't taking$70, which means you will find another way around Indiana, like maybe 64 to the south that goes across southern Indiana, and all the money that comes to that, people stop to eat, people stop to refuel, all that money now goes away. So the question for Indiana is is incentivizing to raise the money by making 70 a toll road worth the offset of money you're now not going to get for the gas stations and the employees and the other supporting industries that support people driving across your state. Will it be worth it? They argue that there's some projects being put off now, is what they said. I I have an issue, but I'll tell you what, they do need to fix 65 into Chicago. Interstate 65 is horrible. Has been. And they need to do something. But I'm not really sure, Indiana, that this is the answer. I understand what you're up against, but I just don't think it's gonna end the way you say it is going to end. I just don't see that happening. Recruiters say the job boards like LinkedIn are dead. How does this vote for today's job seekers? We are the Tech Mobility Show.

SPEAKER_03 31:01

Are you tired of juggling multiple apps and platforms for meetings, webinars, and staying connected? Look no further than AON Meetings.com, the all-in-one browser-based platform that does it all. With AON meetings, you can effortlessly communicate with clients, post virtual meetings and webinars, and stay in touch with family and friends. All in one place and for one price. Here's the best part. You can enjoy a 30-day free trial. It's time to simplify your life and boost your productivity. AON Meetings.com where Innovation Meets Connection. Get started today and revolutionize the way you communicate.

SPEAKER_01 31:34

To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting Techmobility.show. That's Techmobility.show. You can also drop us a line at talk at Techmobility.show.

SPEAKER_04 32:04

In business, opportunity doesn't wait, and neither should you. At Playbook Investors Network, we connect visionary entrepreneurs with the strategies, resources, and capital they need to win. Whether you're launching, scaling, or reimagining your business, our network turns ambition into measurable success. Your vision deserves more than a plan. It deserves a playbook that works. Playbook Investors Network, where bold ideas meet bold results. Visit pincommunity.org today.

Are Job Boards Like LinkedIn Failing?

SPEAKER_01 32:36

Did you know that Tech Mobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Each week, I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like, and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube. Check it out. Inc., and that's INC, period, a business magazine, recently featured an article that quotes a job quotes job recruiters saying that job boards like LinkedIn are dead. Smart companies are sidestepping the system and seeing results. When it comes to AI-infused job and application funnels, could this be proverbial canary in the coal mine? With a level will this level the playing field again for job seekers? This is topic C. In any new technology, doesn't matter what, you initially see a stampede of people to embrace it, use it, apply it, do all sorts of stuff. It was that way when uh Betamax came out and VHS came out for watching movies on tape. Then came PC Jr. and the first uh personal computers, then came the World Wide Web and the fact that everybody had a website, then came broadband, that's about 25 years ago, then came everybody had to have a mobile app. Oh my god, do you have a mobile app? Now we're dealing with AI. I've reported here about the impact of AI on employment with respect to eliminating a lot of the lower levels of a company where you would start out of college, wherever, start with that entry-level job, develop skills, move up in the company. How AI is really the really the first the first uh line of defense for when you send in an application. We talked here about how people were trying to game the AI. I had said for some time, and I still believe it, that systems like LinkedIn were getting gamed and being oversaturated. Folks would tell you, oh, if you're looking for somebody, whether it's Indeed or something like that, we'll use LinkedIn in an AI-infused application. It's awesome, it will bring you the people you need. That's not what's happening. Job recruiters are reporting that they are getting swamped with a lot of applications that aren't even applicable. Not even. That they're not finding the people that they're looking for for the jobs they've that they've got open. That the current digital stack, the way that it is currently configured, isn't getting the job done. And that makes you wonder. If it's not working for the employers, we've established that it's not working for potential employees, then why is it in the middle between them? And that is the issue at hand right now. The smart recruiters are going back to the basics. Oh my God, networking, actual job business networking is a thing again. Asking family and friends, ah, a thing. Referring in close circles if you've got specific jobs that you're looking to fill with specific skills that you're looking for. You're turning away from the digital mash that is AI and AI-infused funnels. Bluntly, they say they're not getting the quality of people they need. And here's what happens, and I notice for a fact a lot of those postings for companies that are out there in the digital ether, they'll post, let me give an example. They'll post a trainee for maybe a produce department for grocery store, produce manager. They're not looking for produce manager trainees, they're looking to see what the interest is out there. Meaning, if you think that's a way in to this particular company and you think that's a legitimate job, oh my goodness. No, they're just stacking resumes. They're not really sure what they're looking for. And it deed is good for that. Where if you're looking at that versus the corporate's own website and you look at the both, they'll show a job on the job board that doesn't exist in the company. Why do they do that? Sometimes they're testing waters, and to be blunt with you, sometimes they have no clue what they're looking for. They're just casting the net to see what they catch. That doesn't help you if you're looking for a job today. You do all this time, you jump through all of these hoops only to find out you get ghosted by the potential quote unquote employer wondering if AI excluded you to jump street, or the company just doesn't have a clue. What I'm hearing now is very often the company is swamped with applications that don't meet the needs that they're trying to fill. Let that sink in for a minute. So what do you do? Well, it really depends on what jobs you're looking for. I don't think AI is going to go totally away in the job search function. I think for unskilled jobs it will continue to have a place. But I think as the complexity of the open position is greater, I think that AI and the automated systems will have less value. I think that LinkedIn, indeed, others, monster, are hitting a saturation point where they have diminishing returns, particularly if you're looking for a very specified job, like maybe a specific type of software engineer. Those sites are less valuable, not more. If you're looking for bodies, you are a daily staffer, you're looking for warehouse staff, you're looking for something entry-level, yeah. I think that AI is still going to be the case because there's a lot of advantages to the employer in getting that sorted down and getting the number of people they need. It's great for numbers. For nuance, not so much. So you're out looking for a job, maybe today, maybe now. What do you do? Really depends on whether your job is relatively unskilled or highly specialized. If it's highly specialized, then the urge is to not fool with the typical boards. Go to the companies directly. That have a very specific need that they've outlined. That they're not just out there fishing. They know what they're looking for. Yes, yes. Network. Honest to God, networking counts even in 2026 for those specialty jobs. Those people in those companies are putting out feelers to friends and family, business associates looking to fill these very unique jobs. Don't count on the generic job boards if you have a specialized job. Or a unique job. Or job that's nuanced in terms of pay, responsibility, and skills. Job boards do great for cattle calls, not so much for specifics. So look at it a scapel versus a meat cleaver. Look at the job boards as a meat cleaver. If you are in a job situation where a scapel is required, then you may want to fall back on the typical things that you've always done. Reaching out, uh trade associations in your trade, connections that you have in other businesses like what you're looking for, those still count. And in fact, may in fact be more effective than you spending a lot of time fooling with these job boards.

SPEAKER_04 41:38

Every great business starts with a spark, but taking it to the next level takes strategy, connections, and capital. That's where Playbook Investors Network comes in. We're your strategic partner for accelerating growth, navigating challenges, and capturing market opportunities before your competition does. Your business is more than an idea. Let's make it an impact. Playbook Investors Network. Your future starts here. Learn more at pincommunity.org.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings at the Tech Mobility Show by visiting Techmobility.show. You can also drop us a line at talk at Techmobility.show.

SPEAKER_03 42:35

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SPEAKER_04 43:09

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