Is "SEO" really any different than just basic "best practices" these days? I worked for a company in the SEO business, and I have to say that 99% of it just seemed patently obvious once you took some time to really think about the problem.

Don't over-abuse keywords

Keep your content fresh/relevant

Make sure the link text to your content reinforces the key terms you're trying to rank on (to the extent you have control of this).

Use sites like digg and stumbleupon to expose users to your content.

And so on. SEO is "dead" in the sense that basic HTML is "dead". It is no longer the mysterious domain of specially trained tech individuals. SEO is just something else that you have to know and do if you want to have any hope of your website and company being noticed in todays consumer world.

SEO is dead, but thousands of SEO consultants who are still trying to make money by making SEO out to be more than it really is are viciously fighting this fact.