Although this week proved to be another roller coaster ride for the 2012 GOP candidates, social media continues to correlate with polling data and even surpass the traditional methods in predicting election outcomes.

Just a couple of weeks ago it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that Mitt Romney would wrap this thing up and charge into Florida with three wins, allowing the GOP to crown its nominee and turn their focus on defeating the president. But with the Iowa GOP announcing that Rick Santorum was the actual winner of last month’s caucus and Newt Gingrich running away with the South Carolina primary, Romney is instead just one of three candidates claiming a single win.

Even as political pundits and campaign managers are scrambling to figure out what changed the momentum and eventual outcome of last night’s South Carolina, the leading indicators from social media data clearly shows the build and fade for Newt and Romney, respectively, started right after January 16th – the first of two debates in South Carolina.