Even though almost everyone refers to music stands and pulpits as podiums, technically the podium is only the part you (and the lectern) stand on. A podium (from the Greek for foot) is a type of small stage (or the short wall in front of a stage), but no one seems to know that. A podium is what an ochrestra conductor stands on. When someone invites you "up to" the podium, they're asking you to stand "on" it, not "behind" it.
Some barbarian dictionaries (like Webster’s, grrrrr…) accept this “wrong” definition because of its popular usage. Linguists argue about this kind of thing, i.e. should a dictionary record all language usage, right or wrong, or should it record only the correct usage of a language? How do you settle an argument if you pick up two different dictionaries and get two different answers? Scrabble players will now be forced to accept "y'all", "yup" and "pert near." Imagine the anarchy! There will be violence in the streets!
I'm generally against chaos, but at the other end of the spectrum, some languages, like Spanish and French, actually have governing academies that try to control vocabulary and grammar. Most people who speak those languages just ignore the experts and borrow an English word. You can go just about anywhere in the world and say "computer" or "cell phone" or "big mac" and people know exactly you're talking about.
English, however, is pretty much mob rule. Hence lecterns have somehow become podiums, even though we don’t put our feet on them.
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