Must-Reads: The Future of Facebook, ModCloth's Fashion Empire and More

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By Megan Hess2013-08-16 23:38:12 UTC

During the week, we consume words in snackable, tweetable bites. But on the weekends, we have the time to take a dive into the murkier, lengthier depths of the Internet and expand our attention spans beyond 140 characters. We can brew a cup of coffee and lie back with our iPads, laptops, smartphones and Kindles.

Since you're bound to miss a few things during the daily grind, we present to you, in our weekly installation of Mashable Must-Reads, a curated collection of can't-miss stories to read and reflect on. (You can find last week's must-reads here.)

Approaching Darkness: One Man Blogs His Descent Into Alzheimer's

When David Hilfiker, 68, was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year, he was determined to strengthen the relationships with his loved ones — not lose them to a deteriorating memory. So the author and self-described exhibitionist begin writing about his disease.

Facebook's Worst-Case Scenario: Becoming the Next Yahoo

Luckily for Facebook, there's no social media behemoth ready to take its place just yet. But the latest research shows that teens' use of the platform has plateaued. Could Zuckerberg's tech giant be looking at the same downward trajectory as Yahoo, which was the No. 1 destination on the web 15 years ago?

How ModCloth Went From a College Dorm to $100 Million a Year

The concept behind ModCloth is simple: an online shop to sell the clothes you can no longer fit in your closet. Since its launch in 2002, the ecommerce company has blown up — and it's still growing almost 40% annually. Here, CEO Eric Koger explains how the company keeps its boutique-y feel and maintains its strict "no assholes" rule.

Why a Teen Kidnapping Victim Turned to Ask.fm for Solace

Grieving is a fairly normal and healthy response to trauma, but usually, it's done in private. After kidnapping victim Hannah Anderson was rescued, she turned to the popular question-and-answer site ask.fm to talk about her horrific experience (her account is now disabled). Here's how it helped her cope.

How Ant Colonies Foreshadow the Future of Facebook

Social sites like Facebook could become stronger and smarter by looking to the behavior of ant colonies, where too much growth can lead to collapse. Welcome to the Anternet.

I'm 13 and None of My Friends Use Facebook

In this op-ed, 13-year-old Ruby Karp extols her friends' favorite social networks: Snapchat, Instagram and Vine. Facebook doesn't make the cut — it's filled with too many parents and too much bullying and too many ads, she says.

Don't have time to read them all now? In our Readlist below, export this week's must-reads to your tablet to save for a time you have no distractions. Simply click the "read later" button alongside each story or or click "export" to send the entire list of articles to your preferred device.

Image: Flickr, jurvetson

Topics: ask.fm, Business, Facebook, Mobile, modcloth, must reads, Small Business, Yahoo