I had a radical idea pop into my head today. There are times when I -should- be doing something other than playing CoH, yet if my global friends were to come on, I'd definitely hop online and play with them. And there are times when if I knew my friends were on, I'd play CoH, but not knowing, I play other games instead, rather than log on to risk disappointment.
I have absolutely no idea how technically feasible this might or might not be, or what a cost/benefit analysis on it might look like, but...
My idea is to create a light chat-only client, to show global friends lists and non-location-specific chat and channels, such as tells and global channels.
I'm not sure if overall it would prompt more play-time or less, as some people would come on to play with their friends, rather than playing other games, etc... while others might not log at all when they otherwise would, unless they see their friends first. I -am- sure it would prompt people to be -thinking- about CoH a lot more, and to be actively involved in the community and any roleplaying they might be missing out on, even when they don't have time to actually be in the full game engine (such as at work). And from a cost/benefit standpoint, it could be a VIP-only feature, thus prompting more people to upgrade.
Just a radical thought...
@Seran'el
Anyway, you can just share your contact information on an IM program with your friends in game if you want, and have the IM program open even while you play.