Reviewer Spotlight: Guthrie Nutter - Portland, OR
Posted by: Staff Writer on March 18, 2014

Do you know the people who are plugging in reviews on deafREVIEW? Every quarter, we pick the brains of our most active reviewers. They are the words behind our deaf-friendly mission, the stars of our 1-5 star ratings, and the soul of this website.
Meet Guthrie Nutter, who self-identifies as Deaf. Since our launch in May 2012, he has written 45 reviews and has earned a “Valuable Reviewer” badge.
A perennial traveler, Nutter has logged in reviews in Seattle, NYC, and his current place of residence, Portland, OR. Fittingly, reading his reviews is much like peeking into someone’s travel diary. The details - from biometric fingerprint scanners at his local 24-Hour Fitness (Portland) to the kayaking sign language dismount/dismount classifiers used at Aqua Verde Café and Paddle Club (Seattle) – bring insight to the little and big things that make our lives better or worse as deaf/hh individuals all across the nation.
Get the scoop on his deafREVIEW experience thus far:
On time management
Nutter is juggling full-time work with preparing to pursue his MA-SLED (Master’s in Sign Language Education) at Gallaudet University soon. So how does he find the time to rack up 45 (and counting) reviews? “It only takes two minutes to do one review. Seriously. Once a week, once a day – it all adds up.” Indeed: He’s now close to the halfway point for deafREVIEW’s “Expert Reviewer” status, which requires 100 reviews.
On reviewing the #deaffriendly H-Street
Stay tuned for his Metro D.C. reviews beginning mid-June, when he gets settled into the Gally life.
On traveling, and wormholes (kind of)
Nutter once described deafREVIEW’s digital platform as a boon for “notoriously busy” New Yorkers. As he reviews thoughts about Amtrak, Manhattan Mini Storage, and his favorite deaf-friendly Hell’s Kitchen hangout, the now-closed Kyotofu, deafREVIEW has become a “portal to a conversation that I could have once, and share it with many people as opposed to repeating the same conversation thread again and again.”
On convincing friends to write reviews
“It’s always challenging to request your friends to add reviews on their ‘to-do’ list,” Guthrie described his former stint as a deafREVIEW Community Manager in NYC. “But what resulted were conversations. Important conversations. About how businesses are, and should be treating Deaf patrons and other ASL users. It put this issue on the forefront in our conversation threads.”
Android, iPhone, or laptop?
Despite always being on-the-go, he prefers to fill in his reviews and select stars via his laptop. He’s confident that in the future, smartphone navigation “will become easier with newer applications and surfing options.”
On the ‘room of listeners’ effect of digital reviews
“It is empowering to call someone out in a ‘room of listeners,’ so to speak,” said Guthrie, who teaches ASL. “I see too many businesses dropping the ball on their mission statements, but not in practice – as well as commending those who do, and showing them that ASL users can be sweet or stiff critics.”
On re-reviewing, and being the Simon Cowell of museums
Though most of his reviews are of the upbeat 3-to-5- star kind, he minced no words reviewing the American Museum of Natural History (“(interpreter’s) proficiency of ASL is so poor that many colleagues, clients and acquaintances have simply walked out of those guided tours”) or the Seattle Art Museum (“All moving images, visuals, videos and other interactive media with voice overs were not captioned”).
But times are a-changing. On March 29, he’ll be presenting at SAM for the Deaf Spotlight Joan Miro Exhibit. “They’ve come a ways since that review,” said Nutter, referring to the one-star review he handed the venerable Seattle institution. “Expect a juicy update after the tour – when I weigh in the new experience of being there as a guest educator.”
Inspired to get started? Come see our Valuable Reviewer at the SAM this month, and write your review afterwards!
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