Someone on Reddit made a bot that implements this functionality site-wide. You can say "+/u/bitcointip @Username $1" in a comment or message, and the bot will send $1 worth of bitcoins out of your balance to that user. If they don't have a Reddit Bitcoin wallet, it creates one when they get sent coins. The bot also has denominations of beer ($3.64), coffee ($1.38), and internet ($0.25).
Yeah, /u/bitcointip is a great example of what I'm talking about.
Though I do wonder how the more vocal Bitcoin supporters would react if the project never grew beyond "electronic petty cash," even if it was successful at being that (i.e., widely used and easy to set up).
My worry is if Bitcoin "fails" in its larger goals (e.g., challenging the USD's global domination), it'll be seen as a failed project which will keep it from even being able to accomplish its smaller, more manageable goals.