Location-based categorical information services

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a first device, a request for categorical information, the request specifying a category;

receiving, from a second device, a collection of shared categorical information;

determining relevant categorical information from the collection, the relevant categorical information comprising categorical data representative of a content item, wherein the categorical data is responsive to the category, and wherein the categorical data includes location information for the content item, wherein the location information satisfies a location-based conditional setting of the first device; and

providing, to the first device, the relevant categorical information for representation as a graphical object at a location in a map on a display, wherein the location corresponds to the location information.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the graphical object comprises a virtual push pin.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a proximity condition that the content item be located within a threshold distance from a position of the first device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a condition that the content item be located within a geographical parameter of the map on the display.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the providing is automatic in response to the content item satisfying the location-based conditional setting.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the request comprises a selection of a manual update option on the first device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second device sets access rights for the collection of shared categorical information, the access rights enabling sharing of the collection, and further comprising:

authenticating the first device against the access rights to allow the first device to share the collection.

8. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a device, a request for categorical information, the request specifying a category;

receiving, from an information service, relevant categorical information comprising categorical data representative of a content item, wherein the categorical data is responsive to the category, and wherein the categorical data includes location information for the content item, wherein the location information satisfies a location-based conditional setting of the device; and

displaying, by the device, a graphical object representing the content item at a location in a map on a display, wherein the location corresponds to the location information.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the graphical object comprises a virtual push pin.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

receiving a selection of the virtual push pin for a predetermined time period;

performing a first action in response to the predetermined time period being less than a threshold time period; and

performing a second action in response to the predetermined time period being greater than the threshold time period.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first action comprises displaying contact information of the content item on the map, and wherein the second action comprises initiating a telephone call to the content item.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a proximity condition that the content item be located within a threshold distance from a position of the device.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a condition that the content item be located within a geographical parameter of the map on the display.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the displaying is automatic in response to the content item satisfying the location-based conditional setting.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein the request comprises a selection of a manual update option on the device.

16. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

setting access rights for a collection of categorical information to enable sharing of the collection; and

providing the collection to the information service for authenticating another device against the access rights to allow the another device to share the collection.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions that when executed cause an information service to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a first device, a request for categorical information, the request specifying a category;

receiving, from a second device, a collection of shared categorical information;

determining relevant categorical information from the collection, the relevant categorical information comprising categorical data representative of a content item, wherein the categorical data is responsive to the category, and wherein the categorical data includes location information for the content item, wherein the location information satisfies a location-based conditional setting of the first device; and

providing, to the first device, the relevant categorical information for representation as a graphical object at a location in a map on a display, wherein the location corresponds to the location information.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the graphical object comprises a virtual push pin.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a proximity condition that the content item be located within a threshold distance from a position of the first device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a condition that the content item be located within a geographical parameter of the map on the display.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the providing is automatic in response to the content item satisfying the location-based conditional setting.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the request comprises a selection of a manual update option on the first device.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the second device sets access rights for the collection of shared categorical information, the access rights enabling sharing of the collection, and further comprising:

authenticating the first device against the access rights to allow the first device to share the collection.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions that when executed cause a device to perform operations comprising:

transmitting, by a device, a request for categorical information, the request specifying a category;

receiving, from an information service, relevant categorical information comprising categorical data representative of a content item, wherein the categorical data is responsive to the category, and wherein the categorical data includes location information for the content item, wherein the location information satisfies a location-based conditional setting of the device; and

displaying, by the device, a graphical object representing the content item at a location in a map on a display, wherein the location corresponds to the location information.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the graphical object comprises a virtual push pin.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25 , further comprising:

receiving a selection of the virtual push pin for a predetermined time period;

performing a first action in response to the predetermined time period being less than a threshold time period; and

performing a second action in response to the predetermined time period being greater than the threshold time period.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26 , wherein the first action comprises displaying contact information of the content item on the map, and wherein the second action comprises initiating a telephone call to the content item.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a proximity condition that the content item be located within a threshold distance from a position of the device.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a condition that the content item be located within a geographical parameter of the map on the display.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the displaying is automatic in response to the content item satisfying the location-based conditional setting.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , wherein the request comprises a selection of a manual update option on the device.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 24 , further comprising:

setting access rights for a collection of categorical information to enable sharing of the collection; and

providing the collection to the information service for authenticating another device against the access rights to allow the another device to share the collection.

33. A system comprising an information service having one or more data processors configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a first device, a request for categorical information, the request specifying a category of the first device;

receiving, from a second device, a collection of shared categorical information;

determining relevant categorical information from the collection, the relevant categorical information comprising categorical data representative of a content item, wherein the categorical data is responsive to the category, and wherein the categorical data includes location information for the content item, wherein the location information satisfies a location-based conditional setting of the first device; and

providing, to the first device, the relevant categorical information for representation as a graphical object at a location in a map on a display, wherein the location corresponds to the location information.

34. The system of claim 33 , wherein the graphical object comprises a virtual push pin.

35. The system of claim 33 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a proximity condition that the content item be located within a threshold distance from a position of the first device.

36. The system of claim 33 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a condition that the content item be located within a geographical parameter of the map on the display.

37. The system of claim 33 , wherein the providing is automatic in response to the content item satisfying the location-based conditional setting.

38. The system of claim 33 , wherein the request comprises a selection of a manual update option on the first device.

39. The system of claim 33 , wherein the second device sets access rights for the collection of shared categorical information, the access rights enabling sharing of the collection, and the operations further comprising:

authenticating the first device against the access rights to allow the first device to share the collection.

40. A system comprising a mobile device having one or more processors configured to perform operations comprising:

transmitting, by a device, a request for categorical information, the request specifying a category;

receiving, from an information service, relevant categorical information comprising categorical data representative of a content item, wherein the categorical data is responsive to the category, and wherein the categorical data includes location information for the content item, wherein the location information satisfies a location-based conditional setting of the device; and

displaying, by the device, a graphical object representing the content item at a location in a map on a display, wherein the location corresponds to the location information.

41. The system of claim 40 , wherein the graphical object comprises a virtual push pin.

42. The system of claim 41 , the operations further comprising:

receiving a selection of the virtual push pin for a predetermined time period;

performing a first action in response to the predetermined time period being less than a threshold time period; and

performing a second action in response to the predetermined time period being greater than the threshold time period.

43. The system of claim 42 , wherein the first action comprises displaying contact information of the content item on the map, and wherein the second action comprises initiating a telephone call to the content item.

44. The system of claim 40 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a proximity condition that the content item be located within a threshold distance from a position of the device.

45. The system of claim 40 , wherein the location-based conditional setting specifies a condition that the content item be located within a geographical parameter of the map on the display.

46. The system of claim 40 , wherein the displaying is automatic in response to the content item satisfying the location-based conditional setting.

47. The system of claim 40 , wherein the request comprises a selection of a manual update option on the device.

48. The system of claim 40 , the operations further comprising:

setting access rights for a collection of categorical information to enable sharing of the collection; and

providing the collection to the information service for authenticating another device against the access rights to allow the another device to share the collection.