As I get my friends on board here, I feel it would be really neat to have things that my irl friends share show up at the top of my feed and be highlighted. I'm really liking this site, and the social interaction it encorages, and would love for that to carry over to conversations I have in life. It would eliminate the need for my friends to send me things separately, or in a private message to ensure I see them.
It could function either as a second tier of people I follow, or more simply just a check box or star next to their name.