1. A computer system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to configure the computer system with an architecture that uses a dynamic icon to launch an underlying application based on information displayed at the dynamic icon rather than merely launching the underlying application without any context for the underlying application when launched, and wherein the system architecture performs at least the following: on an interface of a computer device, displays a dynamic icon that represents an underlying application that is launched when the dynamic icon is selected, wherein the dynamic icon displays for a limited time a first context element that corresponds to an item of interest derived from the underlying application, and then after the limited time expires, one or more further context elements that correspond to one or more other items of interest derived from the underlying application are displayed in succession for a limited time; receives user input at the interface that results in selecting the dynamic icon during one of the limited times; transmits information that identifies a particular context element displayed at the dynamic icon at the time the dynamic icon was selected, wherein the information identifying the particular context element is transmitted from the dynamic icon to the underlying application; and launches the underlying application based on the transmitted information, wherein the underlying application is launched so as to reference the particular context element that was displayed when the dynamic icon was selected, and wherein launching the underlying application so as to reference the particular context element that was displayed when the dynamic icon was selected comprises launching the application with a list of available items that includes an item corresponding to the particular context element that was being displayed on the dynamic icon when the dynamic icon was selected.