Welcome to my series of blog posts on the ABC's of Social Media, a tool that you can use to make you more "hip" in the world of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (just to name a few).  Today's letter is "H".  Of course there is HTML, Hits and Hyperlink but I've got a better one.  Today's word is for all those out there willing to pass along a nice bit of info to your fellow bloggers.  Today's word is "Hat Tip".

"H" is for Hat Tip

Hat Tip

Pronounced: Hat-Tip

A Hat tip is a cultural expression of recognition, respect, gratitude, greeting, or simple acknowledgement between two persons. In Western societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a hat tip was a common non-verbal greeting between friends or acquaintances while walking on a sidewalk or meeting at a social gathering. Typically, two men (feminine hat tipping was rare) would lift or tip their hats to each other, rather than exchange words of greeting. Where the ritual was used to emphasize social distance, the inferior was obliged to make the more elaborate gesture, for example fully removing his hat while the superior merely touched his. The military hand salute is thought to have originated as a stylized hat tip.

More recently, the term "hat tip" is used in the blogosphere to acknowledge someone who has made a significant contribution toward an effort, or someone who drew attention to something new or interesting. The on-line versions of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times regularly give hat tips to users who bring ideas for articles to their attention.

It's also commonly referred to as a H/T or HT.

Oh, btw, here's a H/T to Wikipedia for the definition!