9. A computer-implemented method for presenting information, comprising: obtaining an electronic object, wherein the electronic object comprises a currently existing file or file folder or directory in a computer file system, a contact in a contact list or address book; identifying an attribute or attribute value associated with the object, wherein the attribute includes a piece of metadata comprising the number of times the object is accessed within a given period of time, or an attribute obtained from the content of the object, including a specific word or phrase contained in the object, or a class membership of the object, or a specific semantic attribute associated with a word or phrase contained in the object; displaying a name or description representing the attribute or attribute value in a user interface; providing an option in the user interface for the object to be associated with an importance value based on the attribute or attribute value; receiving the importance value specified by a user.
9. A computer-implemented method for presenting information, comprising: obtaining an electronic object, wherein the electronic object comprises a currently existing file or file folder or directory in a computer file system, a contact in a contact list or address book; identifying an attribute or attribute value associated with the object, wherein the attribute includes a piece of metadata comprising the number of times the object is accessed within a given period of time, or an attribute obtained from the content of the object, including a specific word or phrase contained in the object, or a class membership of the object, or a specific semantic attribute associated with a word or phrase contained in the object; displaying a name or description representing the attribute or attribute value in a user interface; providing an option in the user interface for the object to be associated with an importance value based on the attribute or attribute value; receiving the importance value specified by a user. 11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: determining a position to place the electronic object or its name or icon in a user interface based on the importance value; and placing the electronic object or its name or icon in the position in the user interface.