Let me be very clear:
Anyone is welcome to conclude that Google+ is dead. Facebook still exists as a company. You personally don't use it. You don't like the font. Whatever...
I don't think it's dead. I use Google+ every day, and I'm looking forward to more of it.
But if a news site is going to make a conclusion, the arguments they use should be logical.
I assert that TechCrunch's specific arguments are not good ones.