Làm thế nào về?
select
u.username,
u.email,
m.title,
m.text
-- ... etc
from microblog m
inner join user u on m.user_id = u.id
where m.user_id = {$user_id}
or m.user_id in (select
following_id
from relations r
where follower_id = {$user_id}
);