I think it would be fair to say that the old way to do SEO is dead, but SEO is far from dead. Like Arjun pointed out, SEO has just changed a lot. The old stuff definitely does not work anymore, especially in the area of link building.
But, now that I understand how the new Google works, I think these changes are completely fair. Truth be told, I wouldn’t change a thing about any of it. God bless Google and Matt Cutts lol 