These days, you can't avoid talking about X in the online marketing industry.

 Since X has aggressively pushed its paid plan, the atmosphere has definitely changed.

As they stick to the paid plan, I hear more often, "Isn't it true that a lot of X users have left?"

This isn't just simple rumors or behind-the-scenes chatter in the community; there are actual changes reflected in marketing metrics and user experiences.

The biggest change brought about by the paid plan is the user experience. By imposing restrictions on free users and offering core features only to paid users, those who used to navigate the platform naturally have started to feel inconvenienced. As aspects like account verification, search visibility, and feed visibility are restructured around the paid plan, free users begin to wonder, "Do I really have to pay to use it properly now?"

From a marketing perspective, this point is very risky. A barrier arises before users can feel the value of the platform.

The psychological resistance to costs cannot be ignored either. Many users still have a strong perception that social platforms should be free. They often feel averse to the very structure of paying a monthly subscription fee, and especially users who casually read posts and leave comments find it hard to see the benefits relative to the cost.

In fact, among small creators and personal business accounts, there are increasing cases of users saying, "I would rather spend this money on another channel," as they seek alternatives. From a marketing standpoint, when these users leave, the diversity and vitality of the platform diminish as well.

Additionally, the frequent changes in the paid policy are problematic. If today a feature is paid and tomorrow the criteria change, and it's unclear why certain benefits are included, users feel confused. When trust in the platform wavers, loyalty quickly declines.

One of the most important elements in online marketing is 'predictability,' and if this collapses, users will move to simpler and more intuitive platforms.

Ultimately, as these factors accumulate, the growth of X after the paid model has slowed, and there is a visible trend of decreasing active users. In the short term, subscription revenue may make the numbers look good. However, in the long run, there is a significant risk of weakening the density and engagement of the community. The attractiveness of the platform as a marketing channel will naturally decline as well.

The current situation seems like a crucial crossroads for X's management. It appears that rather than the revenue model itself being the problem, there needs to be more thought about what value to deliver to users and how.

If they cannot create a structure that both free and paid users can understand, and an experience where the reasons for paying are clearly felt, the trend of user attrition is likely to continue for some time. The experiment of X's paid model from the perspective of online marketing is still ongoing, but it seems that the current direction is certainly a challenging path.