Make sure there is at least one file in it (even just the README.md)
ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@example.com"
The git command-line utility has plenty of inconsistencies http://steveko.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/10-things-i-hate-about-git/
A GUI like http://sourcetreeapp.com is often helpful, but staying on the command line usually quicker. This is a list of the commands I use most frequently, listed by functional category:
git status
list which (unstaged) files have changed