@LadyBirdTBM: 179 followers so far. Nothing to brag about, but it’s respectable. I’d like ">Bryce Harper to follow me. Nationals Park is a baseball's throw away from the spot where I will be extracted at the end of my 4-mile dig. I’m hoping he’ll hit a home run into the shaft.

@MackenzieTBM: I don't get too wrapped up in follower counts. All I know is I have rock in front of me, concrete behind me, and I’ll be followed by 60 million gallons of stormwater and sewage when my job's done. You don’t text and drive, do you? Neither can I.

@BerthaDigsSR99: I’m a huge fan of the ">Mars Curiosity Rover, but I recognize she has more important things to do than follow me. I can only imagine what Martian soil tastes like.    

@BigAlmatheTBM: I have about 300 followers, and Mom Chung has 350. I’d be absolutely thrilled to tweet with ">Mike Rowe, the star of my favorite TV show, "Dirty Jobs." I’m a huge fan and really respect his work. Plus I think he’d really "get" me.

What kind of responses have you received from your followers?

@MackenzieTBM: A lot of Wally’s followers seemed surprised to see TBMs like us tweeting. You'd think they'd be more surprised to see the kind of work going on down here. But most of my followers already know the industry. They know infrastructure. So really it’s just about staying connected.

@LadyBirdTBM: In a word, tepid, but I think I’m growing on them. Well, let’s just say I’m growing and leave it at that. I’ll be 442 feet long when I’m fully assembled and weigh…on second thought, I’m not going to tell you that.

@MomChungtheTBM: Recently, one follower picked a theme song for me: “Everybody Mom Chung Tonight.” I wasn’t familiar with it, but then one of my welders told me it was a reference to the 1980s hit “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” by ">Wang Chung. Now I listen to the song all the time. It pumps me up! I dig it.

What do you and the other TBMs talk about in your direct Tweets?

@BerthaDigsSR99: We don’t talk as much as we should because we’re constantly working. I try to follow their progress, though, and I’m wishing them the best. We’re a pretty small community, so it’s important to have each other’s back.

@MackenzieTBM: I scrapbook when I’m between jobs. I love pictures, so that's what I love to tweet and see from the girls. We're like sisters down here, but I always see myself as the quiet one.