(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is cool tools day.

That means it’s time for a quick rundown of cool software, plugins, handy gadgets, and widgets that make life easier for freelancers and creatives.

Today’s batch includes three tools: a handy wordpress plugin, a web archive that tracks changes on just about every website on the internet (plus lots of extra goodies), and a collection of icons that you can use on your website or for apps.

Zemanta

First up today is a tool I’m just trying out. It’s called Zemanta. It looks at your blog post and finds relevant links, images, and tags (automagically). You can set preferences, and the images are tagged with the appropriate usage license. You can specify (to a point) which feeds it looks at to get related content, and also add twitter or facebook feeds. I got the tool image by typing tools into the search box (without leaving WordPress), and then clicking on it. Pretty cool, but I had a heck of a time getting it aligned properly. A bug?

The wayback machine

If you’re a Rocky and Bullwinkle fan, you’ll remember the time machine from the Mr. Peabody and Sherman cartoons. This wayback machine. is an internet archive that preserves web sites, photos, audio, animation and more.  You can search for old versions of your own website or download free books, movies, and free recordings

Scribd

Scribd: Tons of forms, eb00ks, and documents  Learn more about business, baking, get office forms, templates, and lots more.  Many are free, some are paid.

Free web icons

Dryicons: Free blog or website icons: social sharing, flowers, e-commerce, sports, and holidays.  Lots of different styles, from “grungy” to “ink drawing” to “sleek.”