It’s been 48 hours since Joss Whedon joined Twitter. The number of followers hasn’t reached Justin Bieber territory, but people are waiting to see what kind of tweets he’ll write. More after the jump

Like many fans of Joss Whedon, I woke up on the morning of may 13th, still excited about the first promo for the ABC show Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. We were most excited about what could be the catch phrase of the summer: “Don’t touch Lola,” uttered by the literally indestructible Agent Philip Coulson. How he’s indestructible…well, that will be explained sometime, but let’s enjoy it.

We had no idea an even bigger story was about to unfold…

I find out on Facebook that Joss has finally made the plunge into Twitter, the 21st century equivalent of sending telegrams to friends, family or people who you think are just wrong.

According to his page @JossActual, he started his account sometime after 11 PM Pacific Time on the 12th. His first words:

It’s me! Joss!  My own account!  No more hiding under studio skirts!  I’m FREE! @MuchAdoFilm @AgentsofSHIELD @Marvel @roadsidetweets #free

Then, his next tweet:

MY account!  I got strong opinions!  I’m gettin’ POLITICAL! (Heads up, LEMURS.) And making wry observations about mundane stuff!

That sounded good to me. I followed his account and, just because I can’t help it, I try to write something that’s as quirky as he is…

@JossActual Welcome! We Tweeters will follow you to the ends of the Earth, but not that tacky boutique over there, or that boring disco

OK, it isn’t as quirky…or maybe it is. You decide. I follow that with something more intelligent:

@JossActual Of course, congratulations on @AgentsofSHIELD  (is Luke Cage included?) and enjoy Seattle this week in #MuchAdoRulestheWorld

That’s less quirky, but I had to say something about Much Ado About Nothing about to kick off the Seattle International Film Festival. Maybe it will get an award there, or it will rule the world (at least the indie film part).

He sent some tweets before when he used the @MuchAdoMovie Twitter feed just before the movie’s premiere during South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. He also wrote a few after that. This may be why he decided to get his own account.

Since that time, he’s gathered about 123 thousand followers. Not exactly in the Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber range, but it’s all about quality, not quantity of followers. Tweeters may follow Gaga, or Taylor Swift, or even any Real Housewife because it gives them a connection only the internet can provide. It’s a long way from hoping to get a response from a fan letter…yes…with paper, pen, and a stamp.

Then, there are those who join people because their tweets can be profound, interesting or just funny. While I’ll never that kind of a following, Joss certainly will.

Here’s one where he talks about a photo in the Hollywood Reporter where he’s reunited with the writing staff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

I’m confused. Is this the Once Upon A Time spinoff?  I see at least 3 giants and an ogre. And a pretty princess! #me pic.twitter.com/AH3KhOSTq2

This one explains how he started to like Twitter:

Btw, I’ve been tweeting on @MuchAdoFilm for weeks, and I used up all my funny — so get ready for the B-side! #mydogthinkshespeople

This one was from Tuesday night, after the ABC Upfront event in New York wrapped up with Joss and the SHIELD cast:

Ugh… Out late with the SHIELD peeps. Feel like all that drinking & partying is hanging over me somehow — should there be a term for that?

Of course, I had to respond:

#whispering It could be worse. You may have had a tiger in your bedroom while @ClarkGregg is on a roof somewhere #hangover,

Good thing I didn’t try to add Mike Tyson into that tweet.

This does not mean I’ll be tweeting Joss 7200 times a day. I can be quirky elsewhere, and often. I do think that Joss will get a mountain of thank-you tweets when Much Ado finally gets a regular run next month, and then Comic-Con, and then the TV show. Maybe he’ll get comments from readers of his Dark Horse comics. They can do that now.

Joss finally joining Twitter is the nerdy equivalent of Miley Cyrus coming back to Twitter, but over-active Whedon fans should keep the tweeting to a minimum, and make those tweets count. Again, it’s all about quality, not quantity.

Meanwhile, much of the Whedonverse is already on Twitter, from David Boreanaz and Alyson Hannigan, to Seth Green, Nick Brendon, Tom Lenk, Fran Kranz, Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Seam Maher, Alan Tudyk, Camden Toy, Doug Jones, Eliza Dushku, Felicia Day, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Charisma Carpenter, Kristy Swanson, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Tim Minear….nearly everyone.

Sarah Michelle Gellar isn’t on Twitter, but that can always change.

As far as connecting with Joss through Twitter, we shouldn’t go too far. One big Twitter-lanche, and he might be scared off. Just welcome him, and think of an impressive tweet you can use when the time is right. That’s the best way.

When he has a thought that is longer than 140 characters, we’ll head to Whedonesque, like we always do.