The answer to that question is: it depends. If you are using asymmetrical pods (ESE for sure) one-half of the pod will be thicker than the other side. In some pods, the bottom side will lave little bumps in a circular pattern on the paper filter. On some new pods there will be a white watermark stating "side up".
In some of the newer symmetrical pods, it obviously does not matter, as the top half is pretty similar to the bottom. The reason this is important is really limited to their use in true ESE machines. These machines originally had a fixed shape infusion chamber, and thus the top of the pod was flattened a little to provide for better pre-infusion wetting of the grounds.
If you are using a non ESE pod machine or a pod adapted machine, the side up is basically irrelevant, as the pod ends up being pressed between the lower brew basket and the diffusion plate. In addition, some of the bigger machines have a pre-infusion cycle built into their functionality.
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