Living with ZK - an approach towards communication with analogue messages

It is well known that we communicate more with non-verbal means than verbal ones. It is also true when we communicate with drawing using paper and pencils. We use not only words and texts but also use marks, symbols, and other non-verbal information like arrangement or colors. This paper proposes a new approach to electronic communication with verbal messages together with non-verbal, or analogue, messages. ZK(ZeichenblocK) provides us a means of exchanging analogue messages in a network-transparent way. Its potential importance is demonstrated with applications to such as `analogue questionnaire' and `concept representation.' Such analogue data which is represented as ZK-scripts are effectively distributed in the `word-of-mouth' mechanism.