In layman’s terms, what is social tipping?

The recognition of another’s contribution with something of value on platforms like Twitter or Reddit.

What happens when someone is tipped? How do you spot it? Usually informational value is rewarded for a different kind of value. And when used in the context of Twitter, that “different kind of value” is the digital asset known as XRP.

The tip language on Twitter is inherently intuitive; reply to the person or organization, enter “+” and your tip amount (can’t exceed 5 XRP), then finally tag the XRP Tip Bot (@xrptipbot) so it knows what’s going on. The person or organization tipped will receive a DM alerting them of your tip. You can also tip multiple Twitter handles in the same tweet, integrate donate buttons into your website, stream tips, and so much more. The most recent tips sent as this is being written:

After you reply to a comment, the simplest format to start tipping is like this:

+<amount> /u/xrptipbot , eg. +3.6789 /u/xrptipbot

A thorough and well-crafted guide is available here.