Elderly US usabilty experts

Nielsen got trotted out yet again on Monday by the Beeb (Jo Twist). Then Don 'bless his cotton socks' Norman on Tuesday, and Togg on Wednesday.

I groaned. This is a bit like deciding the only people who can ever talk about film are Steven Spielberg, Charlton Heston and Tom Cruise... or like believing that the only opera worth listening to is from the Three Tenors. Though I suppose it's an easy turn for a journalist to sit around for a day at a commercial series of tutorials in London - the Nielsen-Norman circus - and spend a week writing about the people who talk there.

I could not agree more with Chris McEvoy's blog post. There are plenty of UK people that are experts in this field that they could be talking throughout the year - even inside the Beeb itself! - but they never get the chance.

This point reminds me of something that happened last month, when the BBC Woman's hour researcher who asked me to come and speak about blogging said she had sent out an internal email asking for information about blogging and bloggers - and got a response from famed blogger Tom Coates, who was sitting in the office next door! Sometimes I think the Beeb knows not what is has within its own walls. Expertise management, anyone?

And how about some fresh voices on mainstream media, and a bit more effort from BBC reporters?