Elon Musk takes over for three years: How to restructure Twitter from a 'free public land' to a 'paid empire'? Only by understanding the underlying rules and business logic of X can we avoid ineffective efforts and make your content truly visible. Because in these three years, Musk has completely transformed the previously non-existent "optional subscription" into an "infrastructure tax" that must be paid to survive in this ecosystem. Three conclusions: -Subscription is no longer just a premium membership service, but the only passport to a basic experience on the platform. -In the new algorithm, unpaid users are equivalent to "digital invisible people". -The entire ecosystem has been restructured into a closed loop where only the interaction of paying users has commercial value. Looking back at the layout over the past three years, Musk has not made drastic changes in terms of functionality, but has thoroughly reorganized the underlying business model and ecological rules. one ️⃣ And the starting point of all of this is to forcibly regain control over the data and entry points. Back then, he cut off free APIs, turned interfaces into expensive paid resources, and completely banned third-party clients such as Tweetbot, with the core goal of monopolizing access. As long as the traffic is still leaked in external applications, the official cannot control the pricing power. Only by forcing all users and data back to the official app, unifying the experience, and holding all advertising spaces in hand, can the subsequent commercialization have a foundation. two ️⃣ After completing the entrance binding, he created a huge 'use friction' on the user side. Previously, Twitter used to be 'casual viewing', but now the strategy has changed to 'usable, but endure'. The experience of free users has been significantly downgraded through the "login wall" and "reading limit". At the same time, the value system of Blue Label has been redefined: it has gradually shifted from simple identity authentication to "paid membership". This transformation is very subtle but crucial, as it elevates the subscription attribute from a purchasing function to a level of gaining trust and displaying identity. three ️⃣ But the real way to force the payment rate out is to deeply embed the subscription into the distribution logic of the algorithm. This is the most crucial aspect, 'distribution rights'. Under the new rules, the reply rights of paying users are much more important than those of ordinary users, and there is even a switch for "only authenticated account replies". This sends a signal to everyone who wants to build a personal brand: if you don't pay, you will be demoted in the algorithm, and even become the denominator. To become a visible 'molecule', payment is the only way. four ️⃣ In order to block the exit route, X finally designed a precise "reverse drive" closed-loop: Do you want to make money? Please pay first. This is also the strategic focus that Musk will continue to increase by the end of 2025. The official advertising revenue sharing rules clearly require that you must be a subscribed user. Moreover, when calculating revenue, the system places extremely high weight on the interactions (retweets, reviews, likes) of paying users. That is to say, a like from a paying user is more "valuable" than a like from a free user, and may even overlook the interaction with the free user. This creates a subtle 'crowding out effect': creators not only have to pay themselves in order to increase revenue, but also naturally only focus on comments and interactions from other paying users, as interactions with free users do not bring direct benefits. This mechanism further marginalizes free users in the public opinion arena, ultimately forcing them to pay in order to gain a sense of participation. five ️⃣ In addition, advanced productivity tools such as articles and long videos are locked in more expensive tiers, and Grok is used as a "price anchor" for high-end packages. With this combination of punches, Musk has actually established a new "algorithmic class". Musk's three-year experiment in X proved that simply selling features is difficult to keep users paying. The highest level of commercialization is not selling services, but selling 'power'. When you design the "right to be seen" and "eligibility to make money" as essential rights that must be held in the ecosystem, and make paying users "high weight nodes" in the system, the entire ecosystem will automatically migrate to paying.